


The Switch

by snsoldier



Series: Last Bot Standing [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Prime, Transformers: Rescue Bots
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-02-17 12:44:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2310083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snsoldier/pseuds/snsoldier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Heatwave and Dani are overwhelmed by guilt and responsibility when a rescue disaster leaves Blades offline and Taylor in a coma.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First work in a very long time, but this darn bunny started stalking all the thoughts in the back of my mind... Placed about midway through season 2. Why? Because I work 14 hour shifts and the only T.V. I see is Netflix. =)

"Ugh, what is with humans and large outdoor displays that don't hold up against the weather?" Heatwave grumbled under his breath. For the third time this week, they had been dispatched to rescue a 20 foot tall Easter bunny with a propensity for tipping over whenever the wind blew.

"It's a holiday thing. Bigger, brighter, better." Replied Kade.

"You forgot gaudier."

"Eh. To each his own. Just wait til you all see Christmas. You haven't seen gaudy until you see what old Mr. McGurnkle does to his house each year. I'm pretty sure that the whole thing can be seen from the international space station each year."

Heatwave shook his head in resignation before he reverted to vehicle mode, the driver's side door swinging open for his partner. "You almost sound proud to know him. I don't see the appeal. It's just a waste of energy that could go to better uses."

"I guess you have to grow up with these traditions to really understand." Kade shrugged as he climbed into Heatwave's cab. "Hey Code, Heatwave and I are finished down here. Anything come in that's worthier of my skills?"

_//Nothing yet Kade. Graham just got back, and Dad and Chase are still at the marina warning everyone about the storm. It's supposed to hit Griffin Rock sometime in the next hour.//_

"Great. Let's head back before we turn into a couple of drowned rats."

"That's the first thing you've said today that I can agree with."  
_____

"Ah... ah... CHOO!"

Chase paused before the hanger lift and turned his optics back to kitchen doorway. "Chief, are you becoming ill again? Will you be requiring more of the tissues made of paper to absorb the excess fluid spillage from your sinus cavities?"

Chief Burns shook his head and hung up his dripping coat before responding. "It's just the cold combined with the damp. Rain just seems to make any day feel a lot colder than it actually is."

"I can assure you that the temperature measurements have been experiencing standard deviations that are within the statistically probable variances for a normal day."

Chief chuckled as he pulled off his boots. "I believe you, partner. There's just nothing quite like trying to convince people to leave their homes by the shore. It doesn't matter how many disasters they see on the news... They all think that it won't happen to them, but expect us to be there instantly when it actually does."

"That is highly illogical. If one is aware of a danger prior to encountering it, then the proper course of action would be the avoid it. This would eliminate all risk of injury or property damage."

"Heh. Yes, that's true. Unfortunately, logic and reason aren't some peoples' strong suits."

"I neglect to see how the donning of formal attire is in any way related to logic or reason. Also, is it even feasible to categorize a garment as being strong?"

"It's... complicated." Chief chuckled and gazed back towards the window. "I used to love these storms when the kids were little. When we all lived back on the mainland, our house had this great wraparound porch. I would walk around the porch with all the lights off, holding one of them in my arms, and we would count the lightning."

"Really Dad? With me too?"

With a smile, Chief took the towel Cody had brought to him and rubbed his hair. "I'm afraid you weren't born yet Cody. You came along after I had taken a job here as deputy. I wish I could have... but you are the only one who was carried around the observatory during a storm. Kade used to spend all his time there dreaming about being an astronaut, and he would take you with him sometimes when you were little." 

"Noble... I didn't know that Kade was into outer space..."

Chief chuckled. "That he was... and there was a time when Dani wanted to be a prima ballerina, and Graham wanted to be a fireman. I wasn't quite expecting Kade to pick that one up from him. Kade used to tease him about it that it wasn't a 'cool' job like being an astronaut was. Speaking of the family, where is everyone?"

Cody pulled himself up to sit on the counter before responding. "Heatwave and Boulder are in the hanger, and Graham is in the shower. He kind of came back looking like a mudman. I think Kade is in the TV room."

"Good. Glad their back home safe. How about Dani and Blades?"

"They finished at the shipping docks, but now they're at the airfield helping Tayor. Some sort of big shipment of tech that he was supposed to transport to the mainland before they grounded all non-emergency flights. I guess he needed help to get it all secured."

"Or maybe he just wanted a better view while doing the job." Kade snarked, his broad frame leaning up against the doorframe. "The truth will be all over little sis's face when she gets back in."

"Stop teasing your sister, Kade, and yes... _Planning_ to tease your sister counts just the same. Hopefully there's nothing out there that will get ruined by the rain. None of us were expecting that storm front to make it so far north before making landfall."

"Well, hopefully Blades can avoid getting himself busted up in this storm. If they have to walk home in this rain they'll be swimming before they make it halfway here."

"Cody, why don't you head back up to dispatch and see if you can get her on the line. I want you all safe under this roof as soon as possible in this weather."

"Sure thing, Dad."

"I will check in with Heatwave and Boulder. Perhaps they have received an update from Blades which we have not."

Chief nodded in approval. "Sure thing Chase. Keep me posted."  
_____

Downstairs in the hanger, Heatwave smashed a clenched servos into the large nevatear bag that hung from the ceiling beams. "Updates? Not a one."

"Perhaps this is some cause for concern."

"More like relief." Heatwave muttered as he landed another blow into the heavy bag. "You know how Blades carries on when he has to fly in anything other than the most perfect of weather conditions."

"He might be right about that this time. That sky is remarkably dark. I heard Graham warning people to stay away from windows in case they get knocked in by downed trees. In a way, it's strangely beautiful." Boulder never fully turned to face them while he spoke. His optics were mesmerized by dangerous beauty of the storm building up outside the window.

"Blades just needs to bot up. It's not like his paint will wash off or he'll rust in place. Maybe for once he's just getting the job done and focusing like he should. But if it will make you worrybots feel better, I'll see if the main comm will bring him up."

"You know, I think he's just too proud to admit that he's worried too." Boulder remarked after the firebot had left the room and Chase had come over by the window to stare outside at the worsening weather with him.

"I am certain that is the case. However it is neither productive nor beneficial to postulate on potential reasons for lack of contact rather than conduct a proper investigation. For instance, Chief may very well have lost his life when we became trapped in the old mines had no one properly investigated our route and reason for radio silence a few months back."

"That's true, but on the bright side, I don't think even Dani would be able to convince Blades to go into a mine or the like in this weather. I bet it's just interference from the storm, and they will both be walking in any minute now. I know! Why don't we get the dryers ready and put one of his favorite shows on for when he gets back!"

"Agreed. This should help to alleviate his mood over the weather when he returns. I have read that positive thinking holds remarkable powers to improve both emotional status or debilitating illnesses. This appears to be an ideal time to test this proclamation."  
_____

When Heatwave stepped off the lift some time later, he found Kade already hovering by the door, wearing his heavy rain coat and boots. For once, he was completely unable to maintain his normally aloof and cool demeanor, and was nervously fidgeting as he paced back and forth in front of the door, anxiously waiting for it to open.

"I take it you haven't heard anything from Bades or Dani either, huh?"

"Not a peep... It's not like Dani to not check in... But Dad wants to wait a bit longer before letting us go out for them."

"So they can be extra drenched?"

"Nah..." The firebot's expression darkened. He could see right through Kade's weak attempt to alleviate his concern. "He just thinks they might have hunkered down with Taylor to wait out the storm, that's all. With the lightning, the comms just aren't as reliable as they normally are, and Taylor is all the way on the other side of the island after all."

Heatwave groaned in exasperation. "So we assume nothing went wrong, even though we all think something's gone wrong?"

"No. We assume they're safe until we know otherwise. I'm not risking all of your lives for an emergency that may not even exist. Dani and Blades are both experienced rescuers. If I can trust Blades to keep my daughter safe, I think you should be able to do the same and trust her to watch out for him as well." Chief Burns' voice was unusually terse. He kept his back towards them the entire time he spoke, as he poured himself another cup of coffee from the pot on the counter.

"Trust has nothing to do with this..." Heatwave growled. "Our comm is stronger than yours, and I still can't raise Blades. Our tech doesn't react to interference the same way yours does. If I can raise Optimus, I should be able to raise Blades."

"C'mon Dad... That's a red flag if ever I heard one!"

Chief Burns sighed again, and this time there was no mistaking the worry in his eyes and voice as he turned to face them. "Alright... but take the high roads through downtown, not the cliff route. Those roads are more likely to flood."

"Gotcha!"

"And be... careful..." The chief's voice trailed off when he realized he was speaking to an empty room. Kade hadn't wasted a second in bolting out the door, Heatwave hot on his heels. The duo was in such a rush, the door hung half open, and the rain was already pooling inside the doorway. It was reassuring to see how much Kade cared for his sister, but at the same time, now he was going to have two children out in a tropical storm and unaccounted for. He hesitated for a moment in the doorway, oblivious to the cold rain that was wetting his face.

For some reason, closing the door now, had an ominously final feeling to it.  
______

"C'mon partner, I'm counting on you to have a lead foot!" Kade shouted over the wind as he scrambled into the cab and fastened his safety belt.

"I don't have any lead components, so you're out of luck."

"It's an expression... It just means to go fast."

"That, I can definitely be counted on for."

With a squeal of tires and a plume of splash back, the fire engine roared down the mountain road towards the airfield. When they arrived, Kade hurried out of the cab to pull the chain link gate open.

"Damn I can't see six inches in front of my face in this rain... How're you?"

"I already adjusted my optic settings to compensate for the darkness. Where were they supposed to be working?" Leaning down, Heatwave scooped Kade up and raised him to his lowered chest plate so he could take shelter in the cab.

"The third bunker on the right side of the first runway before the helipad is his personal bunker. That cargo should have been there."

"Gotcha." Heatwave scanned what to Kade seemed like oppressive darkness, then took off running.

"See anything?"

"Not yet... wait... Blades!" Heatwave's relief faded fast when no there was no reply forthcoming from his team mate. Blades was just kneeling there, his back towards them, one arm draped over a stack of crates.

"Blades! Blades pay attention!" The strangest feeling welled up in the firebot's engines as he reached out and gripped his friend's shoulder. To his horror, instead of turning to face him, the bot slid back like a wireless puppet and crashed to the ground.

Nothing came out of Heatwave's mouth as he stared into the coptorbot's optics. His focal lenses were fully dilated, giving him an eerie appearance as he stared silently back up at Heatwave.

And not a spark of light was visible.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor, poor Blades...

"Heatwave..." Kade's voice was low as he stared at Blades. "Is he... I mean... he's just... sleeping... off right? You can turn him back on, can't you?"

"We don't have switches like one of your cheap kitchen appliances!" The bot snapped back, causing Kade to reel a few steps back, caught off guard by the harshness of his tone. Heatwave steeled his jaw and turned his face away from Kade for a moment, and when he spoke again, his tone was so soft and low, it was barely audible over the wind.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"I know you didn't... I just meant... It's not as bad as I think it is, is it?"

"I don't know... I can't check anything from here, and I definitely can't get him back on my own in this weather. Where in the Allspark are Chase and Boulder?! We radioed for them over ten minutes ago!"

_//We are endeavoring to speed as fast as legitimately feasible in these inclement conditions, however, we have been obligated to make several detours due to flooding issues. Is Blades' condition still unchanged?//_

Heatwave didn't respond. He just stared down at Blades' motionless face. "I shouldn't have said that..." He murmured softly as he gripped the sparkless servos within his own. "I never should have said that it was good to not have to listen to you complain..."

He reached down and gently tugged at one of the bright orange finials on the side of his friend's head. The head lolled limply from the tug, but aside from that, there was no other sign of spark.

"Heat... It's not your fault. That's not even possible. But... We still have no idea what happened."

Kade squinted through the rain as he scanned the area with the flood light from his rescue kit. The crates were neatly stacked. No obvious holes, burn marks, claw marks, or anything that might otherwise suggest some type of danger had arisen. The one hanger he could see in the darkness was properly closed to keep out the storm, and it's steely gray silhouette watched them silently with an almost contemptuous feel. There was no sign that Blades had fought with anything, or anyone. 

It just looked as though he had sat down and shut off for no reason.

But there had to be a reason.

And that reason might have his sister.

"HEATWAVE!!"

Both were jolted out of their morbid thoughts by Boulder's booming voice coming from the darkness behind them.

"OVER HERE!!" Heatwave bellowed in response, and stared tersely into the darkness as the muffled metallic clumping of his friends running towards them grew louder.

"Where's Dad and Graham?"

"We left them both home with Cody. It didn't seem right to endanger all of you. Where are Dani and Taylor?"

"I don't know... there was no sign-" Kade broke off as the hanger door rattled open a few feet. "DANI!!"

Kade sprinted towards the hanger door, slipping and stumbling clumsily in the rain, but never slowing, until he had both arms wound tightly about his sister in a desperate hug of relief. The relief on both of their faces attested to how oblivious they were to the awkwardness of her being only in her white undershirt in the soaking rain.

"Dani, are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened?" He brushed back a lock of her damp hair. His sister's face and clothing was streaked with dirt, and half her face was smeared with blood from a scrape above her left temple. The rain might be concealing the evidence, but he could tell she had obviously been crying.

"I... don't know..."

"What do you mean you don't know? It's not like Blades just keeled over because he felt like a nap!"

"Heatwave! You can't be so harsh..." Boulder's stern look softened as he knelt beside the bot, inspecting their immobile friend. "After all, it's not like she did this."

Dani wiped her sleeve across her face and folded her arms across her chest before turning to face the clustered bots. "We were almost done, and the lightning was starting up. Blades was in front of me as we were walking back towards the pile when out of nowhere, I heard Blades yell to look out, and then he flung me across the field..."

Dani's voice faltered, in spite of her rescue training. Until today, it had always been people she knew, but wasn't all that close to. Today the two people she quite possibly loved the most aside from her family had both been taken down by something she couldn't understand or stop. 

"When I looked up, Blades was just sitting there... Taylor was lying on the ground a few feet away... and he wasn't breathing either... I kept trying to call..." 

Kade gripped her shoulders in a reassuring squeeze. "It's ok. I'm here now and I'll take care of everything. Now, where's Taylor?"

Dani wiped her sleeve across her face once more, before she gestured behind her to where Taylor was lain out on the floor of the hanger, with Dani's jacket rolled up beneath his head in a makeshift pillow.

"He's breathing normally now, and his pulse is stable." Dani's gaze drifted back to the hangar behind her. "I was able to help him, but I couldn't help my own partner..."

"That is not something you should continually berate yourself for. The subtleties of cybertronian emergency medical response are something which humans would be hard pressed if not unable to perform in a plethora of inopportune scenarios. On a more illuminated side, there does not appear to be any sign of external structural compromise, which lends itself to the likely conclusion that his internal processes will be equally undamaged."

"There's just one thing that worries me... Graham told me that Earth lightning averages 5 to 6 million kilojoules per strike. While that would certainly painful, it's not really enough to glitch our systems, much less to shut them down."

"So then we're back to when Kade and I first got here... No answers and no ideas."

"My limited portable scanning functions can't find anything specific..." Boulder murmured as he finished his assessment, "However, our stasis pods might have more insight since they will also have the records of our pre-arrival scans and bio-mechanical data."

"Then lets do it." Transforming into vehicle mode, Heatwave's optics flickered briefly towards the hanger, and the three humans there. "Kade, will you and Dani be able to take care of Taylor with Chase?"

"No problem. The Coast Guard sent over one of their rescue choppers to be in standby at the marina. They'll be able to airlift him to the hospital on the mainland. If it was lightning, he'll need treatment for the internal burns and bleeding there."

"Of course, I would be happy to assist in his transportation."

"Not so fast Chase... I need you to secure blades to my roof, then position his legs in Boulder's scoop. If we connect my hitch the his lift that should keep us close enough to not drop him."

"A prudent notion. Allow me."

Dani shivered in the doorway as she watched the bots lift and position her partner, lacing Heatwave's hose across him and the ladder rungs almost as though he were a mattress tied to the roof of a volkswagon. He was so still... It was almost appalling in a way... Blades was such a fountain of chatter coupled with a flurry of nervous movement that to see him like this brought up memories of her mother's wake and that once warm and beloved form lying still and cold against the satin pillows of her final resting place.

Her breath caught in her throat, making an almost inaudible squeak as she tried to push down those thoughts. Beside her, Kade must have been thinking the same things as she was. He gave her shoulders another affectionate squeeze then, finally noticing how very wet and thin her shirt was, he quickly shrugged off his coat and draped it around her.

"I guess there's one good thing from Taylor being out of commission... Now I don't have to give him the mandatory big brother beat down for getting you into a wet t-shirt."

"Not funny, Kade."

"I know." And he did know. But standing there helpless felt even worse than his lame attempt to lighten the mood.

The air felt even more oppressive as they watched Heatwave and Boulder disappear into the dark with their dear cargo. Even Chase lingered a moment and stared after them. If it weren't for his human charges, Kade was certain he would have abandoned protocol and raced after them.

Instead he turned towards them, assumed vehicle mode, and opened his doors for them to load Taylor into the backseat. The sooner they could see him off, the sooner they could get back and find out about Blades.

Kade just prayed it was news that they wanted to hear.

* * *

"The two micron plasma cutter please."

"This one?"

"One more to the left."

"Oh, right... Here you are."

Behind them, Chief and Heatwave paced back and forth, neither able to sit still. Heatwave took it one step further by being unable to even look over at where Blades lay prostrated on a makeshift examination table while Boulder gained access through various panels to assess the systems he was more intimately familiar with.

If he were to be honest with himself, he was really just waiting for Boulder to drive in that final nail and announce that, in addition to having no current, no detectable electromagnetic field, and no motor responses, there was no measurable spark.

Primus help him, why did he ever say that they were lucky to not listen to Blades complain? Blades could do nothing but piss and moan every minute of every day for the next year and it would be a joy instead of having to endure this...

"Ahhhh..."

"Boulder?" Heatwave's head shot around at the higher pitch of his teammate's sigh, so unlike the previous few he had uttered as he potential reason for hope was dashed apart.

"Look."

Heatwave stepped forward as Boulder stepped to the side and froze in place. The iridescent pulsing cerulean light of Blades' spark throbbed and rippled, nestled snugly in its central compartment.

"So he's not offline..." Heatwave murmured softly. It felt horribly voyeuristic to be /gaping at another's spark like this, but since that compartment was so closely guarded it was something most bots never saw in all their cycles. "I always thought the blue was lighter..."

"Me too." Murmured Boulder softly as he replaced the various panels and components he had moved to reveal it. "But at least we know he's still there... we just need to figure out how to get him back out."

"Oh thank God..." Startled, they all jumped at the soft utterance from behind them. As preoccupied as they all were, not one had heard the arrival of Chase and his two charges. Beside them at the base of the lift, Dani's legs had given out and she sat on the floor, tears streaming openly down her cheeks as she repeated it over and over in a low whisper, 

"Thank you, thank you God... Thank you..."

"I believe that if we were to express gratitude to an omniscient, non-present, non-physical being then the Allspark would be the more appropriate selection as that is the source of our origin which, I am quite certain, is not related to any of the Earthen concepts of God."

"Not now Chase." Chief Burns leaned down and scooped his daughter up in his arms. "It's alright now sweetie. The bots will take care of Blades, so just let Daddy take care of you. We'll get you some dry clothes, and some warm soup and cocoa to drink to ward off any chills..."

His voice faded as the lift closed into the ceiling above them, leaving them all staring in quiet contemplation after him. He had barely said a word when the bots left after Heatwave's call, and had been equally stoic upon their return. The bots had always taken note of the way he attempted to treat all four of his children the same, but this time was a very singular deviation, and they all noticed the different tone, facial expressions, and body language he had just used with his daughter. 

"That's Dad for you. I guess it might seem a little strange to bots, but well... most normal families the Mom would do the comforting like that, but since... well... It's just something he does to try and make us feel better when he knows something important is missing." Graham looked back at Blades' still form. There was definitely something very important missing right now.

"A mom... Right... So what does soup and cocoa do? Is that some kind of medicine?"

"Not quite Heatwave... Although most girls will tell you otherwise at least insofar as the chocolate is concerned." Kade chuckled for a second, then stopped as he remembered the prone figure behind them. For such a chatterbot, Blades was commanding a remarkable amount of silence simply by doing nothing whatsoever. "So now what?"

"This is definitely more than my abilities to diagnose. I'll have our stasis pods run every scan they're programmed to run, and then in the morning I'll bundle that data with his previous diagnostics to send to Ratchet."

"So all we can do now is wait?"

"We wait." Heatwave replied tersely as he sat on the couch across the room. "You sleep."

"We'll try." Graham promised as he and his brother left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

"Dani..." Cody knocked a second time, somewhat harder. It was almost noon and his sister still hadn't come out. His Dad and brothers wouldn't really tell him what was going on, and Heatwave banned him from the bunker for some reason today, but this was getting ridiculous. "Dani there's some doctor on the phone for you. He says he's returning your call."

A muffled thump of a drawer closing followed by some muted thwaps that sounded suspiciously like she was hopping from foot to foot trying to get dressed in a hurry. The yelps and curses that came through hinted that she wasn't having all that much success. When the door cracked open though, Cody was completely unprepared for how disheveled she looked. Did she sleep in last night's clothes and try to hide it under a bathrobe? And was that... blood? On her face?

"Phone..." He murmured as he held the cordless out to her without commenting on her appearance. She took it from him with barely a nod and withdrew into her room to take the call.

Cody glanced up and down the hall to make sure it was clear, then leaned in to press his ear against the door. Her voice was low and muffled, but he could just barely make out what she was saying.

"Yes... This is she... Yes... That's right... He was found unresponsive and not breathing on the airfield... Yes... Maybe a minute... No, I don't think so... There was a lot of lightning in the area that night... I see... None whatsoever? ... No, not disappointed. Kind of relieved but at the same time... Yes... Is he awake... Oh... oh... oh... I see..."

Cody furrowed his brow in concentration and strained to catch more. Something bad must have happened... His sister's replies just kept getting lower and quieter, and then the next thing he knew, he was sprawled out on the floor of her room. She had been so quiet by the end, he hadn't heard her finish the call.

"Cody!"

"I know!" He scrambled to his feet, actually feeling a little relieved that she looked angry with him. "I know I'm not supposed to spy on you, but you didn't get home until after I went to bed, and everyone kept saying to leave you alone, and the bots are being weird and aren't coming upstairs or letting me downstairs, and I'm really worried about everyone!"

"Cody..." Dani sighed in exasperation.

"You let me handle the dispatch where I can hear all about the missions and the emergencies that are going on around town, but then when something actually happens to someone in my own family you act like I'm too young to know or understand!"

"Cody..."

"I'm not too young to understand! I understood just fine that mom was never coming back, and when Kade broke his back in that dirt bike race I knew how serious that could be and how lucky we all were when it wasn't as bad as Dad was afraid it was going to be! Something happened last night and it's bad... I know it is. Even if you don't tell me."

Dani sighed and knelt down to brush the brimming tears from her baby brother's eyes. 

"Cody, I'm sorry." Taking his hand she pulled him over to the bed and sat down beside him. "Something bad did happen last night... The worst part is that we don't know what."

"Well, then how do you know it happened?"

"Because something is wrong with Taylor and Blades. That was the doctor from last night. He just got off shift and called to give me an update. They can't find anything really wrong with him, but they can't wake him up either." Dani paused and silently thanked the stars that Taylor had seen fit to add her to his emergency contacts list. Not being able to get updates would have been ten thousand times worse.

"Maybe he's just tired and really needs the sleep?"

Dani smiled softy. Cody's voice said he didn't believe that one bit, but she still appreciated his attempt to make her feel better. 

"The same thing is wrong with Blades."

"Oh."

She wrapped one arm around his shoulders and pulled him close and her little brother responded in kind, slipping one arm around her waste to return the hug. The two siblings sat there like that in silence for some time. Neither one spoke. They merely took in the other's love and support and stared quietly at the worn carpet on the floor of her room, both lost in their own sad thoughts.

* * *

"You're absolutely certain?" Ratchet's face was exceptionally stern as he scrutinized Boulder through the view screen. It made the green bot's internal circuit's flicker and stutter uncomfortably. It was not so much accusatory, but obstinately factual, and Boulder just happened to be the bot challenging the obvious facts at hand.

"I ran the first set, then ran diagnostics, then the second, and then ran a set on myself. My set is an exact match to my pre-flight set. The stasis pods are calibrated properly and functioning correctly, and those are definitely Blades' pre-flight scans. They match the set we took after repairing his propellors some time ago. I just have no idea what to make of the third set..."

Ratchet leaned back from his intense scrutiny, but kept his gaze directly on Boulder. "The answer is still the same that I transmitted with my first assessment. They have to be wrong, either one set or the other, but one is wrong. Those scans you sent me that you say you took off him belong to a completely different bot. Something is crossed somewhere, because it's not possible for the same bot to produce such variance in routine scanning. The values from the newest set are all within the normally expected functioning parameters. They're just not his."

"But they are his... And he's still offline with no other signs of function."

"I assume you checked his energon levels, purged his fluids, and ran new lines."

"Yes. I did that right after the EM measurements were taken."

"And you found no shorts in his wiring, diodes or plugs?"

"None whatsoever. I also compared his network assembly to that on file in case some extra element had been inserted, but I found nothing extraordinary."

"Did you disconnect his central processor for a full recharge cycle?"

"Is... that safe?"

"Yes. The only data that could be lost would be short term that had not been finalized in a recharge cycle backup. Try that. You must be sure to leave him disconnected for the full cycle in order to force his internal processors to auto-correct and re-align themselves. If he doesn't wake up then, run a second set of scans. If they're still abnormal, I'll send Wheeljack out to service your stasis pods. And if they're still abnormal after that, I'll come out myself."

"Thank you." Boulder lowered his head respectfully as the medic ended the transmission. Chase and Heatwave were both waiting for him at the door.

"He's as perplexed as we are... I think. The scans just don't make any sense."

"Well it's not the equipment." Heatwave growled. "Chase and I both ran scans on ourselves while you were waiting for him to comm in."

"It is most probable that due to a high volume of patients at his own clinic site it would be extremely inopportune for him to depart without extensively evaluating the veracity of our equipment. It is surely substandard by several deca-vorns due to our inadvertent extended stasis."

Boulder sighed, and ran his servo over Blades' as he approached the table. Every hope he found reason to cling to was being rapidly dashed almost as soon as it was found. "I guess I was just expecting him to be more like Doc Greene... More sympathetic and caring about our situation."

"Boulder, he's a _combat_ medic. He sees the worst day in and day out. And he probably knows the names of all the bots he works on."

"It is also highly improbable that he has been able to save them all. Statistically, wartime casualties are known for excessive quantities of gore as well as high probability of permanent deformation or deactivation."

The threesome grew quiet at that somber thought. It was hard enough for them to contemplate the possible deactivation of one friend... The thought of someone seeing many friends go that route was spark dimming.

"Blades..." Boulder caressed the top of his friend's head and mustered up a small smile to accompany his falsely cheerful tone. "If you can hear me, I just want you to know we're going to power you down temporarily. Optimus had his senior medic look over your scans, and he thinks this will help. We'll power you back up before you know it."

Heatwave and Chase watched quietly as Boulder slid open various panels, moved aside delicate components, and detached the needed wires. Heatwave felt a chill race through his frame as he did. There was absolutely no change in Blades. It was as though he had already been deactivated to begin with.

* * *

Showered, fed, and dressed, Dani looked like a different person from the one who had seen Taylor off in the rescue chopper two nights before, or the one who had greeted Cody yesterday morning. Kade was out in the waiting room. He had insisted on taking her over to the mainland himself.

It was actually kind of nice... Since the bots came, none of them really spent much one on one time with each other anymore. He managed to keep all the chatter off topic the entire ferry ride and car drive over. Mostly about Hayley and a friend's car he was contemplating buying. All she had to do was sit, close her eyes, and listen to the rather soothing sound of his voice for an hour with absolutely no expectation for her to contribute to the conversation.

He could be really sweet sometimes.

The nurse she was following opened a door and gestured her inside. With a grateful nod, Dani stepped past her into the room. She hesitated a moment as her eyes adjusted to the dimmer lights. The CPAP machine whirred softly, and the cardiac monitor contributed it's regular high-pitched blips to the room's somber atmosphere.

"How could anyone feel better here..." Dani shook off the chill and pushed the curtain back. Taylor lay peacefully resting, looking exactly as she had left him, with the exception of being drier and cleaner. Leaning forward, she gently kissed his forehead before she slid into the chair beside the bed.

He looked fine... The attending had told her his EEG results were back and showed normal brain function, his vitals were all strong and healthy, and every test they ordered came back to them with normal results. Except, he was showing no movement or physical reactions. They tested his brain stem and got nothing. His reflexes, nothing. Sensitivity tests, nothing. There should be at least some twitching from involuntary muscle movement, but there was none.

They said they couldn't explain it.

Neither could she.

* * *

When she and Kade arrived home later that evening, they found the house empty save for a note on the kitchen table.

_//Took the bots, Cody and Graham out to clear the roads and our heads. Boulder did some sort of reboot on Blades that will take until tomorrow morning. Keeping them busy as much as I can, so we wont be back until very late. There's some leftover chicken stew in the fridge and some biscuits in the bread box. Stay home and rest up. The bots might need some company tonight. Love you both, Dad.//_

"Guess we're getting the night shift then." Kade said from over her shoulder as he started rummaging through the fridge for the food. "Glad Dad took initiative today... We have been kind of slacking on the whole saving the town bit, and I guess you're the only one with a believable excuse with Taylor."

Slopping two servings onto plates, he slid them into the microwave. "I kind of wish everyone here knew... I mean, most people would probably be cool with it. Just people like Pynch and Morocco that worry me. They have no problem walking all over people to get what they want, so why should aliens be any different, you know?"

"Yeah... Thank you." Dani stared down at the plate that Kade had made her. "Kade, if you don't mind, I'm going to go downstairs to eat with Blades. I... I haven't really spent any time with him and..."

"Sure thing, sis. I'm just gonna chow down with the tv then grab a nap like Dad suggested. And Dani..." His sister paused at the lift and glanced back at Kade. He had a warm smile on his face and was giving her two thumbs up. "Prime's team's the absolute best. I know what he told them to do will work."

Dani smiled back, but only until her brother had disappeared from view. She prayed desperately that he was right, but the frigid claws that were lacing themselves through her gut filled her with dread that they might all be wrong.

"Please Blades..." She let her hand slide along one of the large black fingers before she leaned in and dropped a tearful kiss on its tip. "Please come back."

* * *

"Dani..."

"Mm... Blades..."

"I must regrettably inform you that I am not Blades, however, Boulder is reconnecting his conduits as we speak. Chief said that this is the equivalent of a homecoming and therefor all members of the family should be in attendance to greet him."

Dani blinked,rolled over on the couch and stared up groggily at Chase.

"Also, you have what appears to be a composite of potato, carrot, and animal byproduct on your face."

"Wha...?" She reached up and touched the side of her face. The stew... She had fallen asleep and rolled over onto her half empty plate at some point during the night. It took her another minute to realize Chase was holding a towel out to her on one finger. It looked like a small scrap of tissue against his hand.

Everyone was gathered around the table where Boulder was working, and Dani felt the dread in her stomach tighten. What was his name again? Primal? No, Primus... She closed her eyes and murmured a silent prayer to him, and any other superior being that might happen to be listening in just then.

"That... should do it." Boulder straightened, and to everyone's delight, an electric shudder ran through the helicopter's frame. The three bots straightened and leaned closer, and the Burns family all noticed the heightened note of expectation in the room.

"Please, please, please..." As Dani crept forward from the couch, she caught her brother's faint whisper. Graham had his fingers crossed on both hands, and was chanting the request in a hushed whisper.

And then, a soft metallic whirring sound.

"Look!" Boulder's triumphant crow could not have sounded more delighted. "His optics are focusing!"

"Blades!" Heatwave leaned forward and slid one servo behind his friend's head. "Can you hear me?" Dani's chest burned from the breath she was holding in, but she scarcely noticed. Was that a light she just saw in his eyes?

The flicker of green peeped on then off... then on again and the entire room exhaled as one as the bot tilted his head on his own for the first time in days.

"Blades! C'mon... Look at me..." Heatwave cupped his friend's face and forced his dim gaze towards him. "Look at me..."

"Is..." The light shimmered stronger in Blades' eyes as he gave Heatwave the strangest look they had ever seen on a bot's face before. "Is your robot coming onto me?"

The groggy slur of words took a moment to register fully with all of them and Heatwave actually seemed completely dumb struck by the comment.

"Are your transistor's sparking right?"

"I... really hit my head..."

"Oh dear GOD..."

Startled, the entire room turned to stare at Dani's ashen face. All color had drained from it, and her eyes were impossibly wide as she stared at her bot.

"Taylor..."

Barely even a whisper, the bot still turned towards her as well. "Dani? What happened?"  
"Holy shit..." As an afterthought, Kade moved his hands to cover his youngest siblings ears, not quite registering that it was too late to blot out that profanity. It was Chief Burns who snapped out of it first.

"If Taylor's here... then that means..."

"Primus help him... help us all..." Heatwave murmured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yes. HERE is the true plot of my story. I just like buildup and figured the surprise would be fun for anyone who didn't already deduce it from the title. And now, my apologies to the wonderful people who are enjoying this and have been telling me so. I appreciate your comments very much, but I have only one day off in the next 14 days, so you're stuck here for a bit. But hey on the bright side, he's not dead! He's just... squishy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the spelling is intentional. You'll see.

In space, no one can hear you scream.

Graham had personally come dangerously close to discovering whether or not this statement was true or just another urban legend.

Right now though, he was positive that whoever came up with that had never met a bot named Blades. Beside him, Graham felt his dad stiffen as well. They were still in the hospital elevator, separated by two sets of steel doors from the nursing floor, the traditional lame elevator music playing softly in the background, but there was absolutely no mistaking the uniquely distinctive pitch of Blades' hysterical shrieks coming from the next floor.

Chief Burns was already halfway down the hallway before the elevator doors had finished opening, leaving his son several feet behind him. Blades' unintelligible shrieks were becoming far more coherent now that the steel doors weren't muffling them.

And rather disturbing at that... His juvenile grasp of human anatomy combined with frantic panic was coming out sounding very Hannibal Lecter... If Hannibal Lecter ever dropped acid before pursuing his warped pursuits in anatomy.

Disturbing as that was, it was not nearly as disturbing as the cluster of doctors, nurses, and security blocking their way into the room the shrieks were coming from. Graham nearly slid into the group trying to stop. Hospital floors, smooth-soled men's dress shoes, and running were all a very bad combination.

"Please, let me through!" His father kept right on moving though, his authoritative tone and matching uniform commanding attention and obedience. In fact, Graham was pretty sure he'd heard that same tone directed at them whenever they fought when they were little.

"No one is allowed in there!"

"We're ah, family..." Graham blurted as he darted through after his father. "Sort of..." He added, under his breath, then gasped in surprise as he entered the room.

As to what shocked him the most, well that was quite obvious. The gasp was due more to the overwhelming effect that the entire scene had on him. Two nurses were huddled by the bureau, one holding a needle filled with something, the other several vials. Restraints were dangling off the foot of the bed, obviously intended for their less than cooperative patient if they ever managed to get him back into the bed. A balding doctor was standing beside the bed, with a younger resident standing nervously slightly behind him. By the bathroom door stood a security guard holding a tazer.

Had they been planning on letting him use that against Blades?

And as for Blades... er... Taylor... He was a disheveled mess. His hospital gown was falling off one shoulder, his chestnut hair mussed up and going every which way, and the dark circles under his eyes confirmed Graham's fears that he'd already been awake for several hours at least. He had wedged himself back into one corner of the room and had half scaled the wall, ironically positioning himself as high as he could from the ground and medical staff clustered before him. His right foot was braced against the window frame of the outside wall, while his left foot was wedged into some sort of metal framework by the head of the bed. Some sort of sling to move patients in? Graham wasn't too sure. The IV stand was tipping precariously as Blades was clinging to it in wild desperation, trying to use it as a comical cane to somehow maintain his balance.

What he was sure of, was that he was getting much more than just an eyeful of far more of Taylor's anatomy than he had ever wanted to see.

"Taylor! We *ahem* have Blades back home waiting for you. Doc Greene is already looking into this, so why don't you just come on down son."

"Nononono... Blades can't be there if I'm here because then I'm not there and if I'm not there then I have to be here and being there when I'm here would be a trans-dimensional paradox punishable by the highest offices and Chase would never let that happen because that wouldn't be allowed and it shouldn't be and I need Heatwave and Kade to get me down right now and I really don't mind if he's super grumpy about it so long as he gets me down..." Blades' voice babbled almost unintelligibly from Taylor's mouth. He didn't even seem to recognize who had just spoken to him. "HEATWAVE! Get me down! HEEEEEEEAT... WAAAAAAAAVE!"

Graham couldn't remember the last time he'd had an honest to goodness night terror. The kind where you wake up, small and scared, alone in a dark room, convinced that the world is ending but you're not sure how. You're just absolutely convinced beyond all reason that it's ending. He had a few hazed memories of his father coming into the room when he woke up screaming from one, and though he didn't remember how or why, he was sure his dad had made everything better.

Just like he was now.

"Shhshh... Come on now son, just look at me." Chief gently but firmly moved a nurse aside to step in closer, his movements slow and fluid like a cat stalking prey. "Now then, it's going to be fine. All you have to do is trust me. Listen to my voice, and trust me."

"NO I CAN'T BECAUSE IT'S NOT!!!!" Gasping and hiccuping for breath, every word was a torn mix between a shriek and a cry. He had probably already cried all the tears he could before they even got here. He just shook his head from side to side, the greasy hair flopping about like a shaggy dog's. "ITS ALL WARM... AND... AND WET... AND... AND SQ... SQ... SQUISHYYYYYYY!"

"Tchshhshh... Look at me son. Come on now. Do you think I would ever lie to you? Now take a big breath and just hold it like this..." All the while moving up past the doctors, his Dad's face and arms were upturned to the terrified man-bot, and he himself took a deep breath and held it, puffing out his cheeks so Blades could see and mimic, which he did, albeit tearfully.

That seemed so familiar... It tugged at something deep in the back of Graham's mind and for a second, he felt almost... jealous? Was he seriously feeling a spike of envy at seeing his dad interact with Blades in a way that he couldn't quite remember for himself? He had three other siblings for crying out loud, how could he be upset at sharing his father when he'd already been doing that his entire life? It was almost shameful to have to admit to himself.

He was still just a few steps behind his dad as the Chief moved forward, but he said nothing to break the lulling effect his dad's voice had on the entire room. Even if he'd wanted to, he wasn't sure if he would have been able to speak to break the trance.

"There now... that's better... You have to remember to breathe... In and out... Nice, deep breaths... Feels a lot better now, doesn't it?" His dad sidled past the IV stand, and reached up for Blades to take his hand. Graham stepped up and steadied the IV stand while Taylor stumbled down from his perch, still stuttering incoherently, albeit in a more hushed tone now that almost resembled calm. "There we go, slowly now... Almost there..."

His dad was seriously an all-star hero. Graham was so caught up admiring his dad being, well, an incredible dad, that he almost failed to turn away in time as Blades lurched awkwardly towards him to the ground, very nearly giving him a face full of a part of Taylor he never wanted to see that up close again. Dear God how would he have ever explained that to Dani? Whoops sorry, while we were out I may have been teabagged by your boyfriend, no hard feelings?

He did turn just in time to see the flash of white from the corner of his eye, and caught Blades' startled yelp as someone jabbed a needle into his bared posterior. The movement was enough to shock his voice back to life.

"What did you just do?!"

"Sedated my hysterical patient, what does it look like?"

"He's not your patient anymore." Chief Burns announced tersely. "He was brought here out of concern for internal bleeding and electrical burns, and since there are none, there's no longer any reason for him to stay here."

"I dare say a psych consult would find several dozen reasons for him to stay. This young man is clearly delusional. He cannot distinguish between science fiction and reality and is suffering from severe hysteria and psychosis. He's a danger to himself and others in this state."

"He's not dangerous!" Graham protested.

"When a young man insists he needs to climb out the window to fly home he is endangering himself and those who are trying to help him!"

Graham bit his tongue. Of course Blades would have tried to get out of the room once he woke up... he probably hadn't realized what had happened to him, much less put two and two together and figure out he should try and act like Taylor and pass for a normal human being...

"PTSD." His dad replied smoothly, never missing a beat. "Send a young man out to some god-forsaken land, teach him it's kill or be killed, feed him that day after day and then see how well he turns it off afterwards. Something exploded, he blacked out, and he woke up in a strange place. With his background of course he's off."

"I'm not off... I'm on... I... am... deniflatly ohnnn..." Blades slurred at them from where he stood half slumped awkwardly against Graham, who was silently counting his blessings that his brother wasn't here to see this. Having Dani's half-naked boyfriend hanging on him was something Kade would NEVER let him live down. Seriously... All that was left was for Blades to knock him to the ground and pin him underneath him and they would have gone through every imaginable embarrassing, semi-sexual scenario he could fathom never wanting to be in with his sister's boyfriend.

"Come on, Taylor... We're going home." Everyone shuffled out of their way as his Dad stared them down. Did he learn that at the police academy? It was very John Wayne at the O.K. Corral... "Now, let's just sit you out here in the hallway with Graham, and I'm going to go and sign you out."

"Sign... sign... eberwhere a saiignnn..." Blades murmured in a sing-song slur, his head already lolling from side to side as though it had suddenly become too heavy for his neck to hold up.

"You can't take him out there." The senior doctor had finally snapped out of the hushed trance that his dad had gotten the entire room to fall into.

"Just watch me. I'm signing him out for or against your advice. He'll obviously do better recovering in a calmer, more familiar environment, which I have at home. Graham, you stay here with... Taylor. I'll be back before you know it." Chief Burns gave Blades a stern look as he said his human host's name with a certain emphasis, then he ruffled his hair with his hand before he gestured for the doctors to lead the way to the nursing station.

Graham smiled weakly as the doctors scowled in his direction. The nursing and security staff on the other hand looked mildly relieved to see their looniest patient leave.

"On... off... on... off..." Blades slumped over, his head in Graham's lap, and giggled. "Stars... twinkle stars... flying home... Twinkle twinky... ding dong's shou..."

"I really hope you guys don't have some sort of moral or legal objections about getting stoned... Chase might be really pissed at us if Cybertron does." Graham couldn't help but chuckle though as Blades flailed one hand weakly through the air, trying to catch the stars only he could see. Obviously that shot had had a bit more punch to it than they may have intended.

In response Blades giggled uncontrollably, like a hyena on helium.

His father was gesturing emphatically down the hall, though he was too far away for Graham to hear anything from what was being said. Hopefully this wouldn't take long, Dani was probably tearing up the house right now waiting for them to call and tell her that he was okay, and since his cell phone was still on Chase's dash, he couldn't sneak her a quick text. Dad had made her stay home to help explain the bots to the newly inducted Taylor-copter, saying that if Blades was at the hospital and awake like she feared, his reaction to Dani would probably be very unpredictable in this state.

Talk about an understatement. Or maybe his Dad had actually considered the fact that Taylor would have been in a hospital gown at most, and flashing a lot more skin than any father would want to think about his only daughter oogling. Which, come to think of it, was probably why he had brought him along instead of Kade. Lucky, lucky, him.

"Graaaaaa-hammmm..." Blades' whisper was strangely sweet in its childish innocence. It changed the look of Taylor's entire face from its usually stern and serious expression to one of almost wide-eyed wonder, and for the briefest of instants, he quietly wondered whether Blades would make the same adolescent crush faces at Dani that Taylor did.

"Yes Blades?" He whispered, leaning in close so no one could overhear.

"You feel... squishy..." A drunken hand waved through the air then poked him, making Graham's face flush scarlet from his scalp to his collar. "Riiight shere..."

"Blades..." Graham's hiss was several tones higher than it should've been as he struggled to keep his composure while Blades giggled hysterically in his lap. Graham pleaded silently that the staff wouldn't come investigate as he floundered helplessly for words. Sometimes girls just didn't appreciate how easy they had it... If he were a girl the only answer he would have needed would have been an indignant huff followed by a smart slap, but no, he was a guy and aside from the cliche bar brawl, he really didn't have an answer prepared for this.

"We do not... poke other people's... squishy bits..." He finished lamely.

Oh his Dad had better be really fast with that paperwork...


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slight... variation, shall we say, of a children's song/poem is used in this chapter. For those of you not familiar with it, here is the original so that you may better enjoy the variation. :D
> 
> Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.  
> The first one said "Oh my, it's getting late!"  
> The second one said, "There are witches in the air!"  
> The third one said, "Good folks beware."  
> The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run."  
> The fifth one said, "It's time for some fun!"
> 
> * * *

"So... A giant robot leader from a semi-destroyed planet way off in outer space has moved to the central mid-west, and when a team of rescue robots arrived because their spaceship responded to his deep space signal he assigned them to work with your family to learn about humans and promote intergalactic relations even though no one except you actually knows that they're aliens so there's no real intergalactic relations to speak of."

"That's... basically it." Dani replied from where she sat on one of Blades' knees, talking up to her boyfriend. "I know... It's a lot to absorb in one morning..."

"Dan-dan... I've been disembodied and put into a giant robot helicopter. I will _never_ be surprised by anything ever again."

Despite everything, Dani managed a small chuckle, and the giant robot smiled. It took her breath away for a minute. How could Blades smile just like Taylor? One was a giant steel robot, the other a warm human being... Was she imagining it? Had Blades always smiled like that and she just never noticed? If that was the case, wouldn't that mean that Taylor actually smiled like Blades?

This was all making her head throb. How could something as simple as packing some boxes away before a storm turn into a disaster of such an epic scale?

"It's okay Dani..." She looked back up at where Blades' usually naive face had an unusually concerned and serious expression on it. "If we went one way, I'm sure we can go back the other. Just so long as we don't rush it and end up with one of those Star Trek transporter disasters." A large black finger stroked the top of her head, and Dani smiled again. He was just barely touching her. He must be worried about the robot's strength and whether he could properly adjust it or not.

"I think Doc will make sure that won't be a possibility. How're you feeling today?"

"Not too bad, considering. I kind of expected to feel colder... These metal bodies are strangely warm. I just hope your pet robot isn't getting me into trouble right now."

"They're not robots. And they are most definitely _not_ pets. They're living, feeling, beings. Blades is one of the best friends I've ever had, and he's my partner." The bot straightened at the sudden sharpness to her tone and she cringed internally. She hadn't meant to sound so defensive, but the words had just spilled out reflexively.

"I'm sorry Dani, I... Well last night the most advanced robot I knew was Doc Greene's helper, and he's never said two words to me. Now you've gone and introduced me to robots who make the one in A.I. seem obsolete, and that movie was pretty mind blowing with its robots even if they were just C.G... Only your robots are some sort of political refugee who are probably better educated than I am. And if that's not enough, to make things even more confusing, I'm stuck _inside_ one of them."

"I'm sorry too... Just... Try to think of the bots as friends, okay? This is really hard for them too. Blades is... Well you'll see. It's really hard _not_ to want to take care of him."

"I would try anything for you, especially if it makes you smile."

Dani blushed, and turned almost in relief as the lift whirred to life and Heatwave and Boulder came back down.

"Hate to butt in, but Chase just radioed ahead that they're back on dry land and on their way here with Blades. He didn't give any details, but my transistors are buzzing that it's not good."

"They did say that he appeared to be fine at least physiologically. So you don't have to worry about that." Boulder chimed in. Dani sighed. It was painfully obvious to both her and Boulder that Heatwave was very put off by Blades' physical presence combined with his lack of actual presence. He looked anywhere but at Blades when he spoke. They just weren't sure whether he was upset that Taylor was intruding, or that Blades was missing.

"So when's Doc coming over to fix us?"

"Heh. Doc's good but he's not _that_ good." Kade smirked as he stepped out from behind Boulder, his arms full of sheets and bedding, and walked over to the couch and began making it up as a bed. "He called and said he was digging through the records still for the research paperwork on at least one of the boxes still. I dunno if that means he's already gone over the papers for the others and none of them could be responsible, or if he's getting all the papers together first and then reading them."

"So make myself comfortable, huh? Don't tell me... Your Dad is having you sleep here to babysit me lest I sneak into Dani's room? This might come as a surprise to you, but I really don't think I can pull off stealth in a twenty foot tall robot."

"You wouldn't even fit through the door. And for the record, Heatwave has my back if I need to lay a big brother smack down on a certain someone. All he has to do is keep you here while I take Blades out in public. Maybe the carousel over at the fairgrounds..." Kade smirked. "Seriously though, Dad said we should have Blades bunk down here so he can at least wake up in a familiar room with all of you here. Whole thing sounds fishy though. They're definitely not telling us something."

"Not that I blame Blades... I know how disgusting you can be. If that's really the "guy thing" that you say it is, then that would make Taylor equally disgusting to be stuck in."

"Hey now, I resent that!" Taylor chimed in, but Dani just shook her head.

"Don't even bother... They won't even notice."

"Hey, it's not disgusting. It's just good old fashioned manly goodness." Kade laughed and flexed his arms in a mock muscle man pose.

"That happens to be disgusting."

"Nothing disgusting about a little hard work that can only be done with biceps and elbow grease. That's the numero uno recipe for a hero."

"Wait... You grease your elbows? That explains the stains on my dash."

""That's just you needing some detailing. If you took a little more pride in your appearance you wouldn't have that problem."

"Thank Primus I don't feel the need to preen like you."

"Yeah you poor genderless bots... just don't know all the fun you're missing out on."

"Oh don't you worry _your_ pretty little head about our _fun_... We're just not shallow like you."

"Are they fighting about _sex_ now? How does that even work with robots... Unless I'm supposed to be some kind of butch chick bot, I am _definitely_ missing a few key parts right now."

Dani snickered and patted Blades' knee. "T.M.I. Taylor. This is my bot we're talking about here. Think of Kade and Heatwave as Irish twins... So close in age that they secretly are exactly alike, but insist on bickering over every itty bitty detail just to try and prove that they're not. As for what they're fighting about, they don't even know half the time."

"Hey now, I am nothing like him!" They chimed in near perfect unison, then turned and scowled at one another simultaneously.

Dani rolled her eyes as Taylor snickered. "Yes, I definitely see what you mean now. No wonder you always want to go out instead of staying in."

Dani blushed again as Kade arched an eyebrow and opened his mouth with what she knew would be one helluva snappy come back, but it never left his mouth. The lift whirred to life and moved back up, and they all turned as one and held their breaths as it came back down.

Chase stepped off first, and gave Heatwave and Boulder a reassuring nod. "I am elated to report that we have all returned in relative safety. I have also been repeatedly reassured that these effects are merely temporary and will pass within a human's normal recharge cycle."

The three bots just stood there completely dumbstruck while Dani hastily scrambled off Blades' knee to dash over to where 'Taylor' was being half dragged into the room, his arms draped over Graham and her father's shoulders.

"Faaiiiive lil pump... kins... s'ting on a face... this one said ohhhhh my issss late..."

"Dad! You didn't shoot him with that ridiculous horse tranquilizer gun for violent offenders did you?!" Dani's expression was one of mild horror as she tried to lift the man-bot's face to look at her, only to have it lol right back down against his chest, still singing off-key in a hazed slur.

"Of course not sweetie. The nursing staff were just a step ahead of us is all. He just needs to sleep this off and we can try talking to him tomorrow."

"Uhn the therd one said here's bitches in their hair..."

"You know... I don't remember any of the pumpkins saying that..." Kade announced flatly. He had taken a few steps back and had his arms folded stiffly across his chest, obviously discomforted by the scenario before him.

"It would appear that human medicinal hallucinogenics have substantial impact on both the auditory and elocution abilities of the one into whom they are injected. I believe that the possessed orange vegetable in question was referring to fictitious female practitioners of magic and not canines of the female gender."

Graham cringed sheepishly. "Blades was throwing a fit that people could here outside of Chase, and the halloween children's compilation was the only CD on the counter display of the hospital gift shop... We were kind of in a hurry..."

The two men straightened to try and lift Taylor as much off the ground as they could, and half-dragged him over to the couch, which Kade had already setup for his use.

"Also," Chase chimed in as they moved past, "I have learned that while public nudity is prohibited in most instances and punishable by ample monetary fines in addition to extended periods of criminal detention, these laws do not apply to those wearing appropriate hospital garb. Happily, this exemption enabled Chief and myself to merely cite Blades with a sternly verbalized warning. Repeatedly... It does not appear our admonitions have taken hold yet."

Dani had the decency to blush, while Blades nearly fell off his perch, coming dangerously close to accidentally crushing Kade as he scrambled to move a giant robot hand in front of his exposed human posterior.

"Hey now! That's _my_ nudity you guys are publicly displaying! I don't think it's unreasonable for a guy to /expect that if you accidentally throw him in your robot and your robot into him that you can at least teach your robot to keep certain things covered!"

"Sorry Taylor... Believe me, we have been trying!" Graham called back over his shoulder with a flush, as he and his Father tried to get Blades to lie down on the couch. In the end, they had to settle for him falling forward on his knees with his face snoring softly into the pillow and his rump in the air, still exposed by the gown, until they covered him with a quilt.

"Well try harder for crying out loud! I don't need any police reports about this on my permanent record!" The bot huffed back, noticeably pissed. "You're an officer of the law! You know better than anyone how that would affect my licenses and career options."

"I'm sorry son, but well, the bots just don't have that concept and I doubt you'd have wanted the two of us on top of you trying to dress you anyway. I promise you, any trouble that Blades gets you into, I will put in for every I.O.U. I have with absolutely everyone I've ever assisted to get it taken care of."

"Besides, it's not like you have anything to be ashamed of." Dani added with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Young lady!"

"Whaaaat Dad, I'm just making an honest observation..."

"Your room. _Now_."

"Spoil sport." Her smile though, as she waved from the elevator said it all though. For the first time in days, she was genuinely, completely relieved. The eye candy to oogle was just the cherry on top of an already better day.

"Now about all this Taylor..." Chief sighed. He should have sent Dani to a convent before bringing Blades home. Then left her there the entire time Blades was stuck in Taylor.

"It's alright. Sort of." The bot sat back upright, an unusually catty expression on his face. "It's worth it to see Dani smile. And hey, at least she likes my butt..."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she was talking about a little bit more than your _butt_..." Kade rolled his eyes. "Heatwave, you and me buddy, we're going to have to get one helluva plan together on this one. This just crossed way over the line of big brother smack down."

"Yeah... About that... When I know what it is we're supposed to be smacking him down for, then I'll take it under consideration. Until then, you're scrap outta luck."

"Kade, not another word. I spent all day trying to explain propriety to a hysterical bot. You are _not_ ending my day with a lesson on birds, bees, and family."

"Wait... All this time they've been arguing over small flying animals? Well that's a relief!" Boulder exclaimed before sidling up to Chase and lowering his voice. "I don't know about you, but I was always kind of worried they were arguing about interfacing..."

"That had been my primary hypothesis as well. I will need to re-evaluate the roles of these birds and bees and their impact upon human family dynamics."

Graham shook his head. "Not another word Kade, just... Not another word."


	6. Chapter 6

"He's been recharging for almost 12 hours now... Isn't he done yet?"

"I do not believe that their recharge cycles share many similarities with ours... I have noticed that on average, the Chief's cycles tend to be quite regular and average 8.2 hours in length which Graham and Kade tend to have highly erratic cycles with durations varying from 3.1 to 9.8 hours. Although I have noted that aside from immediately following an all night patrol or physically demanding rescue of exceptional intensity, they generally do not enter them during the daylight cycles."

"So then we should try and wake him?"

"I'm not certain. Do you suppose that the phrase 'let sleeping dogs lie' may also apply to humans? And if so, would it still apply to a human who is no longer in possession of his own spark?"

"Mmm-urngghle..." The lump under the comforter shifted, and the two bots crouched to either side of it perked up noticeably at the sounds.

"Blades..." Boulder shuffled forward a tentative foot and gently poked the lump with a cautious digit. "Are your processors coming back online?"

"Do they even have processors?"

"I'm not sure... but they must have something relatively similar if they have recharge cycles..."

"What are you talking about?" The lump shifted and a tousled head and torso sat up from beneath the quilt. His eyes were still half-closed, and his voice thick from sleep. "Of course I have a processor. What kind of aft backwards question is that?"

"Blades! You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear your voice again!"

"I must concur. Even in your current preposterous state you are, as the humans say, a sight for sore optics."

"Why Chase? What's wrong with your optics? And... What's wrong with my optics?" Blades shook his head, blinked, and then shook his head spasmodically again.

"Blades... don't you... don't you remember?" Boulder murmured tentatively, uncertain how to broach the subject. After much prodding and pleading, Graham had finally caved and given him the fully detailed story behind how they found Blades at the hospital. If his optics had been faulty at the time, he was certain he would have sobbed hysterically just from the description of things, and the last thing he wanted was to inadvertently re-trigger this reaction in Blades.

Blades' human face was scrunched up and wrinkly as he continued blinking and making strange faces. "Hmm? Remember what?" The man-bot shook his head one more time, muttering half under his breath something about faulty optics and defective focal lenses, when he turned to look at Boulder and froze.

"Boul... der..." Inch by inch his head tilted up until his head was craned back almost unnaturally so that he could finally see his friend's face. "Oh scrap... have I been shrunk... again?"

"Not... exactly..." Boulder winced, and tried to flash his most reassuring smile. "It's only temporary, I'm sure... And you'll get to experience so many new and exciting things that you'll have to tell me all about! So there's a really positive way to-"

Blades' scream cut him off. He had raised a hand and was now staring at the fleshy, shaking digits in abject horror.

"While most certainly disconcerting to discover yourself in such a predicament, it may come as some relief to know that your proper form is fully functional, undamaged, and currently inhabited by Taylor's spark. He is coping remarkably well, although he claims this is due to an affection for something called 'Freaky Friday' and the sci-fi channel."

"Relief? RELIEF?! That is the absolute last thing I am feeling right now! I am trapped in a fragile carbon-based life form and you want me to be RELIEVED?! And furthermore... wait... did you say..." Blade's face twitched. " _Taylor_... has... a _spark_... and it's... _inside_... of... _me_...?"

"Well... Sort of... I mean..." Boulder hesitated.

"What he means is that somehow, human souls and cybertronian sparks are apparently similar enough in their physical and electro-chemical properties that they are somehow interchangeable within each other's species' physical housing."

"Doc! Does this mean you found the answer?" Boulder and Chase stood and stepped back from the couch as Doc Greene and the Chief stepped off the lift and walked over towards the group.

"Regrettably, I am still endeavoring to fully grasp the mechanical properties of the tech which may have been involved. When Chief called this morning and told me Taylor, I mean _Blades_ , was now home, I came over to see if I might be able to glean some insight from some behavioral observations."

"But I don't want to be observed..." Blades whimpered, as he pulled the comforter up to his chin. "I want to be back inside _me_ where I am _supposed_ to be. This violates everything the Allspark stands for!"

"I am uncertain as to whether or not there is any sort of directive against... spark swapping..." Chase mused. "I am only aware of one instance in which a spark inhabited another cybertronian, and even then it was not able to force the original spark out, merely assume control temporarily. In fact, I am quite certain you may be the first and only cybertronian to have traded sparks with an alternate species."

"Well I don't want to be the first... or the last! I want to have never done this at all!"

"Hate to break it to you Blades, but it's a little late for that." Heatwave muttered from across the room. Boulder and Chase exchanged a knowing look when he did not step further into the room or look directly at any of them. "You need to do whatever it is Kade and them all do in the morning. Cody took a message from the comm this morning. Ratchet is going to be linking in with Optimus to check in on our little situation in about an hour."

"Well then we're going to have to get you upstairs son to borrow some clothes from Kade." Chief held up a fleece bathrobe and gestured for Blades to stand up to don it. "Luckily you two are close enough in size that we shouldn't have too much trouble finding something acceptable."

Blades whimpered and looked from Chase to Boulder before looking uncertainly at the robe. "Are you sure this won't hurt?"

"Blades, if the donning of linen garments was in any way unpleasant I am sure we would have learned of this by now from our hosts. They do don them on a regular basis, and aside from complaints over wet garments being somehow unpleasant, I have heard nothing else that is in any way worrisome."

Blades nodded uncertainly at Chase before hesitantly sidling out from under the comforter. Doc took his arm and started to help him stand, when Blades let out an agonized cry and doubled over onto the ground.

"Blades!" Heatwave's voice sounded genuinely panicked as he rushed into the room and pushed Boulder out of the way to kneel down beside him. The tone is his voice was venomous and accusatory as he turned towards the humans kneeling over Blades. "What have you done to him?!" 

"Absolutely nothing, I assure you!"

"Heatwave, I appreciate your concern but right now, you're not helping." Chief's tone was equally stern and sharp in response to the bot's. Behind him, Chase clasped the firebot's shoulder and shook his head at him, wordlessly confirming the Chief's statement. Heatwave growled softly, and leaned back slightly to grant the humans more room, but made no move to step back further.

"Now Blades, what's wrong?"

"I think... I'm... dying..." The man-bot gasped between muffled sobs, still doubled over on his knees.

"Where exactly is the pain coming from?"

"I... don't... know..." He whimpered breathlessly. "It's... not like... anything... I've ever... felt... before..."

"Alright son... I know it hurts, but I need you to sit up just enough for Doc and I to see where it hurts... We can't help if we can't figure out what's wrong." Chief's voice was so soft and gentle, even the hysterical bot was able to calm down enough to make that effort with a muffled groan. "There we go now..."

"Alright Blades, I need you to to tell me when it hurts." Doc Greene gently pressed his hand into the right side of Taylor's abdomen, just below his ribcage. "Nothing? Well that's a relief since that rules out the liver... how about here?" Doc's hand moved further down, and Blades shook his head tearfully again, though he was still biting down on his lower lip to suppress the urge to cry.

"Good... good... So then it's not his appendix... and here?" Several minutes later, a perplexed Doc Greene still hadn't found the source of Blades' pain. A thorough examination of his abdomen had garnered a series of negative nods from Blades, whose eyes were still brimming with tears and the occasional muffled whimper of pain.

"Blades... I need you to really focus right now..." Chief's voice was remarkably calm and soothing, despite having three frantic bots hovering over him, one of whom would quite possibly squish him if he couldn't solve this. "Now son, close your eyes, and focus on where the pain is... where does it feel the absolute worst? It might be really hot and burning... Or maybe a sharp stabbing pain that feels like it's twisting something..."

Blades nodded and closed his eyes. "I think... I'm going to explode... right here..."

"Oh my... well this is a bit of an unexpected turn." Doc Greene straightened thoughtfully. "Although I suppose it is perfectly reasonable that the differences in internal anatomy structure and arrangement would result in such confusions."

"Well, what is it?! Out with it already!" Heatwave growled, and Chase stepped warily in between him and the cluster of humans.

"It's nothing to be concerned about."

"I am... not... making this... up!" Blades gasped out, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I know you aren't son. Now come on with me. Chief knelt down and pulled one of Taylor's arms over his shoulder to help support his weight as he stood and began walking across the room.

"I... I can't..." Blades whimpers loudened to sobs of pain as his legs buckled under him with each forced step. Chase and Boulder were both now physically holding Heatwave back.

"I am certain that if Chief says it is of no real concern, than this must be the case." Chase insisted as his grip on Heatwave tightened, which only earned him a baleful look. "Perhaps it is a result of his not being properly clothed."

Across the room, Chief Burns was making a valiant effort to ignore the commotion behind him to focus solely on his charge. "Just a few more steps Blades..."

"Dad... Is everything alright?" Graham poked his head around the corner, Kade and Dani right behind him.

"We're fine kids, just head on back upstairs."

"NO... We're... NOT..." Blades wailed.

"Scrap it all Kade! What is he doing to Blades?!"

"Dad..." Kade shoved past his brother and ran up to Blades. He knew Heatwave's tone of voice well enough to know the bot was scared enough to just take out everything sight in order to be sure he took out the only real threat. His demeanor changed once he got in front of them though.

"I... think I'll sit this one out." Kade stepped aside awkwardly and let his father step into the hall before he went over to his bot. "Come on Heat... Leave this one to Dad and... Just trust me on this one, ok?"

"Trust you? Trust YOU? You're not even telling us wha-"

All three bots jumped in a mixture of shared shock and fright at the shrill scream of absolute terror that tore through their home, while the four humans cringed.

"Just um... trust me... Dad's done this before... He absolutely knows what he's doing right now, even if it is scaring the daylights out of Blades."

Chase and Boulder did not loosen their grip on Heatwave, who had at least been shocked enough by the scream to stop trying to charge after the chief. It was Chase's matter of fact voice that broke the silence first.

"I was not aware that humans contained daylight which could be frightened out of them."

* * *

Half an hour later, the bots were all huddled about Blades in the comm room, anxiously trying to get some response from his ashen face. He sat perfectly still, save for his hands, which were anxiously wringing and unwringing a dishtowel, and he made eye contact with no one. He merely stared emptily across the room with the look of someone who knew he was already dead.

Chief looked equally run down from the morning's events, although they could all at least tell that Blades looked cleaner, smelled better, and was fully dressed. No amount of coaxing on Dani's part though was able to get through to him when it came to eating or drinking a little something for breakfast.

Taylor had joined them last, and at Dani's request, had very quietly moved to the back of the room where Blades wouldn't be able to see him. Even to him it was obvious Blades was not coping well with their little 'arrangement'.

The steady bleep of the comm coming to life got everyone's attention though.

"Heatwave here, do you copy?" A moment later the image on the screen flickered into focus and Optimus Prime and Ratchet filled the screen.

"We're reading you loud and clear Heatwave. Status report?"

"It's... complicated..." Heatwave hesitated, at a loss for words.

"Hmph. It can't be that complicated. I can see for myself that the hard cycle worked since Blades is online behind you."

"That's... not Blades."

Optimus and Ratchet both arched their optic ridges skeptically at the firebot, who again found himself floundering for a way to explain their unique situation. Thankfully, chief chose that moment to step in.

"That," He began, gesturing back towards the coptorbot, "would be my daughter's friend Taylor. And this," he added stepping aside so they could see the shell-shocked Taylor sitting in the easy chair they had brought in from the living room, "would be Blades."

The two autobots stared silently from one to the other, obviously perplexed, before Ratchet burst out laughing. "You're pulling my crankshaft. Is this another one of those fool's day pranks? What absurd human holiday is it this time?"

"I wish it were..." Heatwave murmured, turning and making eye contact with Blades for the first time since he'd arrived home. "I... don't know how to fix this." He admitted, a touch of guilt and shame evident in his voice.

Blades lifted his head at that and stared numbly at Heatwave.

"I was hoping that perhaps you might be able to send me some information about this "spark" of yours, so that I might use that while referencing the manuals of the devices that may have been involved in this unfortunate incident." Doc Greene ventured. "Perhaps a better understanding of _what_ has been swapped might provide some enlightenment as to _how_ they were swapped."

Ratchet's face went absolute deadpan. "You can't be serious. If I didn't know better Iwould think you'd all been hacked by Decepticons. You want me to give you detailed medical information on our innermost, most private workings, because you think it can just hop in and out of our frames at the slightest whim? Our parts might be interchangeable but our _sparks_ most definitely _aren't_. You obviously crossed some wires while making your repairs."

"I can assure you th-" Boulder was cut off by Blades' voice, shrill with indignation.

"My wires are _not_ crossed! In fact, that's not even possible right now because all of my wires are over _there_ and I am over _here_! And don't you try and tell me this isn't possible because I am definitely not over _there_ where I am _supposed_ to be!"

Optimus and Ratchet both stared, slack-jawed as the little human stood and flailed about, gesturing wildly from himself, to the bot who shrugged awkwardly and waved from the back of the room, and back again.

"You need to fix this and you need to fix this _now_ and I don't care if you have to give him the medical records for Primus himself because you have _no_ idea what it is like to be stuck in one of these... these... THESE!" He shrieked, gesturing up and down at himself. "I need to go back and I need to go back now! They're _horrid_! Weird noises, and smells, and if it's not too cold then it's too hot, and they have random parts that dangle about and if you sit on them by mistake then it's horribly painful and they... they... THEY _LEAK_!"

"Hey now, we're not that bad..." Kade huffed. "You're making us sound like some kind of monster."

"YOU ARE!" Blades wailed, his eyes brimming with tears again. "It's awful and painful and then Chief made me go into a weird little room and sit on a chair and LEAK! Primus if I ever leaked that much energon I would be _dead_ and he's there telling me this is normal and I'm supposed to go into this room MULTIPLE times in a single day and leak over and over again and I can _not_ do this! I'm going to leak to death in that room and they're going to find me deactivated and that's only if they even think to go and look for me in there!"

Taylor winced from the back of the room. "I take it you guys don't actually... 'go'... then..." The horrified looks on Heatwave, Chase, and Boulder's faces spoke volumes for them.

"I... I'm sorry... Blades..." Optimus was at a loss for words, which only upset the man-bot more.

"Just _fix_ me..." He sobbed. "Please..."

"This is completely unheard of..." Ratchet murmured. "I'll try and see what I can find, but... I... By the Allspark..."

"I... I did not... I never..." Optimus Prime shook his head slowly. "When I asked you all to learn about the humans and their culture, I never expected one of you to go quite this far in expanding your knowledge of the human species..."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must share that I have the best nephew (just turned 4) ever. I just bought him the jet alt mode Blades, and he insisted and taking Blades and Boulder to dinner with us. We get home, he takes his toys up on the porch, and I follow a moment later with the bags. He's now pushing the porch swing and Blades and Boulder are sitting in it.  
> Auntie: "Oh that looks like fun. They're swinging together."  
> Nephew: "No Auntie, they are on a date. See? They are holding hands."  
> Auntie: ... ... "Oh how fun! They went swinging on their date."  
> Nephew: "No Auntie, they are sleeping together. See? They are laying down on the swing."  
> Auntie: ... ... ... "Oh ok, now why don't they finish their date inside?"  
> Nephew: "Ok Auntie!"  
> For the record... I did not teach him that. But if I ever vanish without a trace... blame my brother in law. =D
> 
> * * *

Boulder crouched down beside the couch, doing his utmost not to squirm about with barely contained excitement. He couldn't even remember what the name of the show was that Blades had picked to watch. Whatever it was, it would be playing tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, but Blades would only be in this unique predicament for a brief while and, once out of it, he would most likely try to forget that it had ever happened.

"Blades..." His half-whisper was a good octave higher than normal.

In response his friend pulled the quilt wrapped about his shoulders up over his head and hid beneath it.

Boulder's face fell, but he didn't push the issue any farther. Dani had taken him from the comm room after they had closed the link with Optimus, and by the time they had finished discussing what to do amongst themselves, they had found him asleep on the couch again. It seemed absurd that anyone would need to recharge so much, but all the humans had insisted this was very normal for someone who was as emotionally upset as Blades was.

"Although Chief has assured me otherwise, I am quite convinced that all of this leaking is in fact directly related to their remaining energy reserves."

"I think so too, Chase." Boulder nodded emphatically.

"Chief denies this, but when his nasal cavities were producing excess fluids, he required approximately 23% more recharge than is typical. When I questioned Graham about the excessive production of fluid from Blades' ocular ducts and my concerns over his extended inactivity he responded that when Dani had broken her previous relationship she also produced a similar quantity of ocular excess and spent a significant amount of time in her bedroom alone with someone called Tori Amos who is apparently capable of producing highly cathartic music."

"Fascinating... Maybe Dani would be willing to ask them to come over again and try making music for Blades. How does one 'break' a relationship though..."

"I am uncertain. Perhaps it is in reference to these rings of personal significance that are purported to last forever by the commercial interludes."

"Hmm... That is an intriguing theory... But if the crystallized carbon is what lasts forever, then maybe it is referring to the circular metal alloy which they mount it upon in order to wear upon their digits!"

"Neither." Came the muffled reply from underneath the quilt. "It's obviously referring to their hearts. Everything hurts in these horrible forms, and Dani has told me that some horrible human broke her heart twice before."

"But that's horrible! Why would someone damage an internal component of someone they love?!" Boulder cried, his face aghast at the sheer barbarism of the concept. "Does it require medical intervention to repair?"

"How should I know? I don't think mine is broken... yet... It's probably for the same reason that they leak all the time. Nothing about these carbon bodies makes any sense. I think they self-repair during their recharge cycles though... at least for those. My oculars feel better after a recharge cycle."

Boulder squirmed anxiously and sidled closer to the couch. "Blades..." He paused, clearly debating which question to ask first to best ensure the maximum number of responses before his friend shut down again. "Did it... hurt... to leak that much?"

In response, Blades pulled the quilt back up again, wrapping it about himself like a hooded cloak.

"Not really..." He murmured softly from the tiny opening about his face. "It... did make the other pains go away. The ones in my lower torso that felt like there was some sort of parasite under my plating that was trying to chew its way out. Oh and I could stand up straight again. But then my external components shrank! That was weird... They just shriveled right up and starting flopping around back and forth. Chief said that was normal too. I think that's his answer for everything right now. 'Don't worry Blades, this is normal...' How could they keep so many horrible secrets like this from us?!"

"Fascinating! So certain aspects of their anatomy are adaptable to varying degrees! I don't think they meant to intentionally exclude us though. I mean, we don't exactly share with them all the details of our recharge cycles or the stasis pods." Boulder paused thoughtfully for a moment. "Do they all do this? The physiological adaptation part I mean."

"I guess... But Chief did say the floppy thing was a 'boy thing', so I guess Dani must do something different."

"Even more fascinating! Do you think she would be willing to demonstrate this some time?"

"I am _not_ asking her _that_." The man-bot announced flatly. "I wish I never had to see _myself_ demonstrate this ever again! Now every time Kade or Graham or Chief leave the room that's all I'm going to be able to think about! If I were you I wouldn't even want them sitting in my cab anymore! It's horrible! Thank Primus Dani doesn't have one or I might have to quit the rescue team just to not have one of them sitting on that awful thing on my upholstery!"

"Intriguing..." Despite Blades' best efforts, it was obvious the other two bots were not on the same page as him when it came to the horror. Even Chase seemed enthralled by their conversation, and he leaned forward eagerly with his own postulations. "So carbon bodies somehow produce excess fluids which they are unable to store or make use of. Excessive amounts of fluid beyond that which can be safely stored or used cause pain that then requires purging into designated receptacles in order to alleviate this. How do you suppose they produce these fluids?"

"Obviously it's caused by coffee." Blades huffed. "Dani doesn't drink any most of the time so that must be why she doesn't do this the same as everyone else."

"Oooh... of course! So then maybe if you avoid consumption of coffee this will apply to you as well."

"But perhaps the coffee fulfills an essential biological requirement of some sort..." Chase's brow was furrowed as he contemplated their options. "We should consult with Chief first to determine whether abstaining from coffee might cause further physiological harm that would be less desirable than the excessive production of non-essential fluids."

A low chuckle from the doorway caused them all to turn and falter. Taylor was leaning against the wall and smiling at them in bemusement.

"You really don't know all that much about people, do you?"

Blades scowled and retreated deeper into his quilts. "That's something coming from a body thief who knows nothing about bots. You had better not be cluttering up my processors with useless gunk!"

"I haven't a clue how to do a thing to your processors. Gunk or otherwise. Besides, don't you all have some kind of defrag program that you can run?" He replied, then froze at the aghast look on the bots faces. "What did I say?"

"I don't know what you think you just said, but back on Cybertron we would have to scrub your processor with a profanity filter for that."

"Oh... I... apologize then. I wasn't trying to offend." Taylor replied earnestly before walking over with a clumsy clunk and lowering himself awkwardly to the ground. "How do you manage to move with these propellors anyway? I'm worried I might break them every time I move. If that happened, I doubt Dani would ever forgive me."

Suspiciously, Blades poked his head out from the blanket, but seeing the earnest expression staring back at him from his own face, he quickly banished all doubt that Taylor was patronizing him. "Well, it's easiest to sit on chairs that don't have backs. Like benches and logs. I really like the tree stump out back. I can watch the river from there and it's really the perfect height of all the chairs."

"That's great for the outdoors, but what about in here?"

"The big bean bag futon. It moves around all funny, but then I don't have to worry about bending the rotors or about the rotors ripping the couch." Blades announced matter of factly. "But you can move them too. They'll both go to one side, or you can move them out or back a bit more to have more room for the chair back and then just scoot in from the side."

"Maybe _you_ can, but I haven't a clue where to begin."

As Blades sidled out closer and began explaining his various mechanics, Boulder and Chase quietly scooted out of the room and shared a small smile. Blades loved to feel useful and needed, and what better way than by having him lecture on the one topic only he was a master of?

* * *

"It's quite perplexing. There are still a few more wings in the archives to comb through, but right now no one device seems capable of accomplishing this. The Matter Ephemeralator prototype seemed like a likely candidate, as it was designed to phase solid stationary objects out of sync with our plane of reality to allow mobile objects to pass through these obstacles, but that would only account for the ability to pass from one body to another... It does not explain _why_ their essences would choose to or be forced to leave their proper housing or _how_ they gained their method of propulsion. By itself, the device does not have the impetus for momentum."

"Wait, you mean the phase shifters? That's not new tech."

"Not quite, Chief. The phase shifters were prototype version two. The Matter Ephemeralator was flawed in that it had a limited radius so there were instances in which halfway through a solid object, instead of passing out the opposite side you would collide with firm matter which on several occasions jostled the device sufficiently to drop the phase. Two atom filled objects trying to occupy the same space? Needless to say the results were nothing less than catastrophic. Hence the phase shifters were designed to create said radius about the user so that they could pass the objects themselves and any dimensional constraints would be immediately apparent prior to passing through phases. But as I said, it only worked on _stationary_ objects. It could have phased Blades and Taylor, but then what would have isolated their personality essence, or in Blades' case this 'spark' they speak of, and moved them?"

"So you think somehow, not only did the devices become active, but they somehow _conspired_ with one another to make this mess?" Chief arched an eyebrow skeptically. He had learned to expect anything since first moving here, but even this was a bit extreme.

"Not so much conspiracy, as linked electromagnetic pulses. Four of the six crates had very small, circular black singes on one or more sides." Doc Greene gestured over to the wall where the disassembled crate walls were propped up. "I believe lightning struck, and the surge of power not only powered on the devices, but created a unique chained conglomerate reaction resulting in an entirely new device essentially. The key now is to identify which four devices were enclosed in these particular crates, and the precise order in which they were activated."

"And what would happen if we get the order wrong?"

"Let's just leave it at we _have_ to get the order right, Dad." Graham sighed as he looked up from the schematics he was analyzing. "The wrong order... well we're trying hard not to think about it."

Chief nodded. It didn't take a scientist to figure out that the wrong steps could be disastrous. While Taylor's situation was definitely throwing a wrench into everything he had previously believed from his Christian upbringing, the bots were at least something concrete. Their spark was an actual physical thing. Disembodying it entirely and leaving it exposed without a host...

He had attempted to broach the subject with Chase, but his normally stoic bot's reaction spoke of a horror that could not be surpassed. He'd never seen Chase rush from a room like that before.

_//Dad... There's an emergency call coming in from the marina...//_

"Roger that Cody. Kade, grab Heatwave and meet me down there. Chase, meet me outside." Chief Burns never let his calm facade slip, despite the fact that the marina usually meant a water rescue, and their air support was in the midst of a major personality crisis. Turning, he strode rapidly from the makeshift research center Graham and Doc had set up amidst all of the Cybertronian scanners, back into the hanger bay where Dani immediately accosted him.

"Dad, Bla- I mean I can still help. Just drop me off at the airport and I'll grab my old rescue chopper from the hanger there."

"No way Dani. Even I can't let you do that." Taylor interjected as he clambered back to his feet, using the wall as a brace to help the bot rise. "I know I was the last person who serviced that machine, and that was well over six months ago. You can't rely on that alone. A lot can happen, even in storage."

"He's right Dani." Her Father shrugged helplessly in apology. "I can't risk you going out and then needing a rescue yourself."

"Fine. Taylor can fly. All he has to do is transform and I'll do the rest manually."

"Absolutely not. Being a pilot and being a bot are two completely different things. Besides, have you thought about asking Blades how _he_ would feel about you two taking off in _his_ body? Anything that happens to either one of them right now could seriously impact when and even if they can be returned to normal." The Chief's somber gaze moved from each face in the room. "It's one thing to go up with your partner. It's another to go up with half of him. I'm sorry Dani, but you're going to have to wait this one out. This discussion is closed. Let's go Chase."

The police-bot shrugged apologetically at his friends before he followed the Chief to the lift. Dani silently glared daggers into both of their backs until she was certain they had left the building entirely then turned a sly eye up to her bot.

"Come on boys... We're going flying."

"But the Chief just sa-"

"I know what he said Blades. He said I couldn't go up with just _half_ of you... That's why you're coming too." Dani reached over and snatched Taylor's hand and pulled the man-bot unsteadily to his feet. "Just explain to Taylor how to transform, and you'll be right there in the cab with me for the entire rescue."

"Dani I don't think this is a good idea... I mean... What if he crashes me? Or squishes me while I'm in him? Or what if... what if I leak again all over my upholstery!!!"

Boulder fidgeted anxiously as Blades protestations grew further and further away as the lift took them up to the helipad. Taylor certainly hadn't helped matters... The bot's eyes had downright lit up at the thought of going for a flight as the helicopter instead of as the pilot.

For once, he had a deep, dark feeling in the heart of his spark chamber that Blades might be worried with very good reason.


	8. Chapter 8

Chief Burns stood stiffly at the docks, his arms folded across his chest. A hundred different lectures were running through his head, being summarily reviewed and rejected for not being emphatic enough. The orange and silver helicopter was docking the pleasure boat it had towed back in, and taking it's sweet time doing it to boot. Dani obviously knew she was in for the chewing out of a lifetime. That, or she was so caught up in gloating to herself that she was milking the showing off.  
  
Even Graham had lost his temper at her over the comm for this stunt and it took quite a _lot_ for him to become genuinely angry. Right now, Blades and Taylor each counted as two people. If something happened to one, both would be doomed. The ends just did not justify the means, no matter how his daughter felt.  
  
" _Danielle Lynn Burns_."  
  
Dani winced as she walked down the dock towards them. Not only her full first name, but her middle name too. What she wouldn't give for the next plank she stepped on to give out from under her and have the ocean sweep her away right now.  
  
"Dad, I-"  
  
"No." The softness of his voice stopped her in her tracks. Yelling would be so much more welcome than his ultra-soft death whisper voice.  
  
"Dani, did Blades ask to go?"  
  
"Wh-what?"  
  
"Did Blades _ask_ you to go?"  
  
She cringed again, the self-satisfaction and pride at having been an integral part of the rescue condensing into a small knot of guilt in the pit of her stomach.  
  
"Not exactly... No."  
  
"Did you _ask_ him if he wanted to go out on a rescue?"  
  
"Well I..." Her mouth worked silently for a moment before she hung her head in defeat. "No, I didn't."  
  
"So you _bullied_ your already traumatized bot into going out on a rescue in a helicopter bot that is currently not trained or experienced in any way at being a helicopter and has never been involved in a rescue of this nature."  
  
Dani felt the hot sting of tears in her eyes. God she really was the jerk that her Dad was describing. "Yes. I guess that is exactly what I did."  
  
"Is Blades happy with the outcome?"  
  
"Not... exactly."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
A warm tear trickled down her cheek, no matter how hard she struggled to keep them in. "He kind of... got airsick."  
  
"So instead of staying home and comforting your bot like I had asked you to, you forced him to go out on a stressful rescue mission, in a body he's not comfortable with, where you taught him what it was like to throw up? Why? Because you didn't think your brothers and I could handle a situation without you?"  
  
"I just... I can't..." She could feel the tears running down both of her cheeks now, and whirled around and started back towards her copter. "I have to go get him detailed... Please drive Blades home."  
  
Blades had meanwhile slid out of the co-pilot's seat and was curled up in a miserable ball halfway down the dock. The man-bot's face was drawn and gray with an expression of pure misery.  
  
It was more than Dani could handle. Choking back a sob, she broke out into a run, scrambled into the cab, and took off with Taylor.  
  
Behind them, the bots shuffled uncomfortably. Boulder broke the silence first, as he watched Graham comfort Blades halfway down the dock.  
  
"What exactly is _airsick_ , and is it something that might be permanent?"  
  
"It shouldn't be." Chief replied softly before walking down the dock to join Graham with Blades. Every so often the wind would carry back a snippet of his wails, usually something nonsensical along the lines of 'leaking' and 'two places'.  
  
"I don't think this fraggin' disaster can get much worse." Heatwave muttered. "Maybe we should send Blades to stay with Prime for now. Bumblebee said they've got a few human partners there too. At least there no one will expect anything of him duty wise. They'll actually expect him to be completely incompetent."  
  
"That may be a prudent course of action, however it would be dependent on their current conditions. Bumblebee did not mention how experienced those humans were in wartime deployment and conditions. It would likely not be acceptable to send a civilian such as Blades to stay with military personnel, nor would Blades likely find their disciplined company to be soothing or pleasant." Chase pondered.  
  
"I'll comm him in tonight to discuss it." Heatwave frowned at where Blades was still huddled on the dock. Despite Graham and Chief's best efforts, they were having considerable difficulties in convincing him to get up and follow them back to land. And what could he do? Nothing... He couldn't put an arm around him, or clap a hand on his shoulder... Almost anything he could do would cause him injury in that tiny form. And even he was willing to admit that comforting words were not his forte.  
  
"Are you certain you would be comfortable in sending Blades away? As Griffin Rock's rescue force is already short one rescue bot, it is highly improbable that Prime would even consider allowing one of us to accompany him." Chase's gaze was so intense in its scrutiny Heatwave was forced to turn away. Sometimes the emotionless police bot was frighteningly good at reading other's emotions.  
  
"This just isn't good for Blades..." He murmured softly. "Right now, I have to figure out what's best for him, not just the team. If this gets much worse, he might not even be able to come back to the team..."

* * *

"And they put shimmery smelly liquid stuff in the water, but it's not soap. It bubbles up just like soap, but Graham swore it was not soap. The bubbles it makes are the whitest you've ever seen Boulder, and they're thick and fluffy. There were almost six inches of bubbles floating on top of the water. It was like sitting in a little lake that's covered with clouds except clouds don't exactly look the same as the bubbles do."  
  
"This sounds incredible! Do you think it would be possible to build a bot sized bath tub? I want to experience this bubble bath for myself!"  
  
"It was nice... I think the nicest thing so far. At least nothing horrible happened the entire time, and it was all warm and melty like. It made my shoulders get all limp and droopy, and that sounds weird but it felt really _really_ good." Blades paused thoughtfully and pulled the thick fleece collar of the robe Kade had lent him up about his neck.  
  
"And the smell... It smells really... I can't even figure out how to describe it. He said it was one of Dani's fancy shmancy ones, whatever that means, and was called Fresh Cream. I'm not sure why... Chief always asks if the cream is fresh before he pours it into his coffee every morning, but this didn't smell anything like that. It was like..." Blades gestured hopelessly in the air, before he smiled apologetically at the enthralled green bot. "I don't think anything smells like it, and it smells so much better than it smelled when I was myself because I know Dani's hair smelled sort of like this before but not nearly as amazing. It's sweeter... and softer... Can a smell even _be_ softer?"  
  
Boulder laughed. "Well if a bot can be an organic than really I guess you can make the smells be anything you want. No one can contradict you since you're the only one who's done this."  
  
"Yeah... I guess you're right. It was almost worth finding out about how they can leak from more than one place."  
  
"Blades... About that... The smell was, well, rather pungent. And Kade, Chief, and Graham were all making strange noises in their throats every so often and turning away. Did that really smell so bad?"  
  
"HORRIBLE Boulder!!! You can not come up with a worse smell than that one. And the taste..." Blades shuddered. "It's like paint stripper and toxic waste and it burns just like them too. And when you smelled it, it twisted something inside and that made more come out like some horrible vicious torture cycle! I think that this God person who designed them was one horrible architect. Why would you _intentionally_ design a being that does all these things? Primus could really teach him a few things."  
  
"Someone designed them? I thought they evolved from single cell organisms after millennia of natural selection."  
  
"I don't know. I saw that show too on the Discovery channel, but then there was another show on the History channel where an architect named God built them in six days and then went on vacation for the last day. If you ask me, he really should have spent that last day fixing all of these glitches that they have."  
  
"Fascinating! So they have two different origination stories? I wonder how they reconcile the obvious conflicts between the two."  
  
"That would be the Crusades... and... Well it's not the most pleasant of topics."  
  
Turning, they both stared warily at Dani as she entered the room, a quilt draped over one arm and a basket on the other.  
  
"What horrible thing have you brought me this time?" Blades whined, yanking the blanket behind him over him so that he could hide behind it.  
  
"Maybe we shouldn't introduce any more new experiences for today..." Boulder added hesitantly, keeping a careful optic on Blades and his reaction.  
  
"This is different. I have here a peace offering of the absolute tastiest, delectable, and just downright yummy delicacies to be found on Griffin Rock. I thought we could go and have a nice, _quiet_ picnic over at your favorite spot in the park. I know how much you like the lake, and well, I just wanted to apologize for being such a selfish jerk earlier."  
  
Blades frowned. Dani's voice had that fake happy tone to it that he knew meant she was really upset, and if that had absolutely anything to do with him he didn't want to inadvertently make her feel even worse. "Do you promise nothing bad will happen?"  
  
"Cross my heart and hope to... um yeah." She flushed as she recalled the ending of that promise. "I promise Blades, you will enjoy this. I owe you this, as your friend and I swear, it will be wonderful. You're going to love the things I have picked out for you in here. Please?"  
  
"It does sound very nice Blades." Boulder offered encouragingly.  
  
Taylor's hazel eyes peered suspiciously from behind the blanket, going back and forth between Dani, the basket, and Boulder several times before he finally sighed and lowered the blanket. "Alright... but if something new and horrible happens, I am going into stasis until this is fixed. Wait... can organics even go into stasis?"  
  
Blades flashed Boulder a brief look of concern as Dani seized his hand and pulled him from the room, chattering about how much he would enjoy this and something about finding Chief to get Blades dressed.

* * *

Heatwave sighed as he left the comm. Chase and Boulder were both standing in the hallway to greet him. The concern in their optics mirrored his own.  
  
"Optimus agrees." He announced flatly, his voice low.  
  
"Are you sure this is a good idea? Sending Blades away to someplace he doesn't know, with complete strangers to watch out for him..."  
  
"They're not complete strangers Boulder. They're just team mates we haven't met yet. He knows Bumblebee, and I'm sure that will be enough to get him introduced to the humans there. Optimus said they have one military liaison, but everyone else is actually a civilian, and just a bit over Cody's age, so he should actually really get along with them. They've partnered up, similar to how we have here, so they should all have a good understanding of bots and what Blades is going through without having an expectation of what Blades is supposed to be doing as a bot."  
  
"And you are also okay?"  
  
"Fine Chase." Heatwave stiffened at their intense scrutiny. "Dani won't relent. This is better for him. Optimus said Ratchet consulted with another one of their scientists, and when he heard all the details he decided to fly out from Nebulos just to see the case files first hand. When he arrives this evening they'll bridge him over to evaluate Blades and Taylor, and then he'll escort at least Blades back."  
  
"At least?" Boulder frowned.  
  
"If he sees fit, he's been authorized to take Taylor too."  
  
"Take me where?"  
  
Startled the three bots turned in unison. They hadn't heard Taylor return from his detailing. Heatwave sighed again and rubbed his optics with one servo.  
  
"This is going to take some explaining..."

* * *

Blades squealed like a child who had just discovered his stocking has been stuffed to bursting on Christmas morning.  
  
"Oh Primus Dani this is _**amazing**_!!! How can you eat other things all the time when there are things like this out there?" Blades eagerly swiped a finger over the plate to gather up the last few crumbs, then licked his digits clean. "What was that again?"  
  
Dani laughed and made a mental note to do something wonderful for Boulder really soon. The big lug had been absolutely right. A day off with a picnic loaded with treats was the perfect peace offering.  
  
"That was a baked Brie with raspberry preserves."  
  
"They should just rename it to amazing. Crispy and gooey and warm and sweet and tart except the little nubbins in the red stuff get stuff in Taylor's dentae... He really should get them sealed properly."  
  
"Those are the seeds, and we're supposed to have separated teeth and not one solid one like you bots have. And yes, it's probably another one of our design flaws. Now close your eyes for the next one!"  
  
Blades squealed and squirmed excitedly, but obediently shut his eyes and opened his mouth. After listening to him fret for almost ten minutes over the appearance of the cannoli she had given him first, she had added the rule that he had to try it before he could see it. Otherwise this picnic might turn into a week long affair with her trying to explain why each piece was not, in fact, poison.  
  
Pulling out another little box, Dani popped it open and pulled out a chocolate truffle.  
  
"This is what I like to call a little piece of heaven..." She teased before popping one into his mouth.  
  
She was right. Whatever it was, Blades was absolutely positive it had broken off of this heaven. It made him wonder if Dani knew where the rest of it was. The outside was rich and warm, and when he bit down the middle was soft and sweet and the flavor of it seemed to just melt on his tongue and wash over his entire mouth. Blades sighed with rapture over the exquisite blend of something sweet and creamy, yet bitter and nutty, and just utterly amazing.  
  
"Do you think Taylor would let Ratchet scan his taste buds to try and upgrade our programming?" He murmured dreamily, his eyes still closed. The sun was warm on his face - much warmer compared to how it felt usually to him - and a cool breeze wafted lazily through his hair. It made the back of his neck tickle. Usually the only winds he noticed had to be strong enough to mess with his propellors.  
  
Strangely, Dani didn't answer him right away. Maybe she had one of those in her mouth too. He would never talk again if it meant he could always have that taste.  
  
"Hey lovebirds! You two certainly look cozy!"  
  
Blades blinked, and tilted his head up at the familiar voice. "Oh we're not-"  
  
"Yup, never been happier!" Dani chirped, flinging her arm around Taylor's shoulders and shoving another truffle into his mouth.  
  
Oh the decadence... Wait no he probably shouldn't be letting his optics roll back into their sockets like this in front of Haley. Or wait maybe he should... Scrap it he should have opened them to watch how Dani ate hers.  
  
Haley didn't let on if she thought he was being odd though. She giggled, exchanged a few more words with Dani along the lines of she wished Kade would think to be that romantic, then continued on her walk.  
  
"Whew that was a close one." Dani flopped down onto her back on the blanket.  
  
"Dani..." Blades furrowed his brow. "Am I being romantic?"  
  
"Oh... um... well..." Dani felt her cheeks flush. "I suppose a picnic would be seen as romantic seeing as how Haley knows Taylor and I have been on a few dates together..."  
  
"But am _I_ 2 being romantic? I don't want to do something wrong and then have people think something's wrong with Taylor because of something I did." His brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to remember what they did in the movies, or at least the ones that didn't involve mirrors or chainsaws or zombies.  
  
Dani's cheeks flushed an even deeper red as she stammered some mumbled excuses before collecting herself with a deep breath.  
  
"It's complicated. You see, romance is a little different for each person because it really depends on what they like. I guess any time you're just really trying to pay attention to what the other person likes and just make them happy then it counts as being romantic."  
  
Blades was quiet for a moment as he pondered this. "So then _you're _the one being romantic today?" He said slowly.__  
  
It was probably physiologically impossible for a person to blush more than Dani did just then.  
  
"Well no, not exactly... I mean... Well when it's your friend... It's not the same... I mean... it's more like being considerate... It's just different. Take my word for it." She stammered out.  
  
Blades frowned and seemed like he was going to push the matter further, but Dani quickly pulled out the next dish.  
  
"Time for cheesecake!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Percepor joins the fray! Short for me, but it felt like a good cut off point.

"Hey!" Blades came to an indignant stop and scowled at Dani as she skipped a few steps ahead of him. "You did that on purpose!"

"Of course not!" She huffed in mock outrage. Blades stared at her suspiciously before he stepped forward and resumed their stroll home from the park. After several paces, Dani threw him a sly grin and then nudged him brusquely with a twist of her hip.

"Hey! That was definitely on purpose and don't you dare try to deny it!"

"And what're you going to do about it?" She teased back before breaking into an easy sprint.

"Oh, you're on!" He growled playfully before taking off after her. "You might have to deal with Kade daily, but I've had to deal with Heatwave for decavorns!"

The empty basket and blanket found themselves discarded along the driveway as the two sprinted for the hangar door, Blades just barely catching up to Dani before they both slammed into it, panting and laughing.

"Ok... I'll... give you... that... running... is way... more fun...like this." Dani laughed at the halting gasps that punctuated Blades' speech. She was barely even winded, but she had also paced herself, which wasn't something she was going to bother explaining to him today at least. 

"I told you today would be fun."

"Yeah... I guess it really was after all."

"Now come on. I'm sure Dad already has dinner re-"

Blades nearly collided with Dani when she stopped short in front of him.

"Dani what's wro-" His own voice trailed off uncertainly as he caught sight of what, or rather, who had her flustered.

There was another bot in the hangar whom he had never seen before. He stood nearly two heads taller than Heatwave did, and his armor was a slightly richer shade of red with splashes of cerulean and silver. His shoulders were easily as broad as Heatwave's were too, though his black hands looked larger and were quite scuffed in stark contrast to his pristine plating. His presence was quietly commanding, although the blue targeting lens over one optic and the shoulder cannon were rather intimidating. 

Particularly so to a rescue bot who had never held a weapon in all his cycles.

The blue optics were light and gentle though, and twinkled brightly when he caught sight of the two of them cowering in the doorway. He even crouched low to the ground when he saw them to reduce his awesome height before he addressed them, his mellow voice deceptively soft for his frame.

"You must be Dani and Blades. I am Perceptor."

Blades nodded mutely from behind Dani, and looked over the bot's shoulder to his team mates for confirmation of how he should be reacting. Heatwave wasn't looking at him, again, and Chase was busy scowling at Heatwave. Those two needed to work out whatever issues they'd been having lately. It was really starting to get on his nerves, but he was too small to feel safe calling either one out on it lest he be inadvertently squished when the ensuing argument ended with them both storming out of the room. Boulder was jittering about though and his EM field was bounding and fluxing wildly. He looked almost... well giddy.

What would make him that happy?

For an instant, Blades felt a momentary flutter in his chest. These silly organic components were always glitching it seemed. "Are you here with... the solution...?" He murmured hesitantly, trying not to let his voice sound overly hopeful.

Perceptor smiled. The giant bot had such an easy, friendly smile that Blades banished all fear of him immediately and smiled back.

"That may be a bit premature. However my preliminary analyses of the interim sensory readings collected by Boulder and Ratchet were confirmed by my initial examination of your Cybertronian form. However it bears to reason that the readings I am able to glean from your carbon based companion whose form you have usurped will be the determining factor for further postulations as its fragility must be factored into any potential resolutions."

Too bad he had to talk like Chase.

Blades nodded quietly in response. He knew better than to ask a science bot to clarify something. It would just finish with him asking for clarification of the clarification of the initial clarification.

"If I may?" The scientist bot extended his hand down to the ground and Blades stepped up onto the proffered palm readily. Blades watched as the bot's targeting lens focused on him, the sights turning and adjusting as he turned his hand this way and that in order to collect readings from multiple angles. Maybe it wasn't a cannon then on his shoulder... He seemed much too nice and gentle to be strolling around with a giant cannon anyway.

"Fascinating..."

"It is?"

"Both of your readings have been evolving over the past few orns. It would appear that whatever essence you were able to exchange is in fact adapting itself to your new host and becoming more firmly attached as time progresses. While certainly intriguing and novel, it is a matter for concern as it may become increasingly difficult to reverse this transition if allowed to continue unimpinged."

"Wait... are you saying..."

"That this might be permanent?" Taylor finished, his face equally aghast. "No offense Blades, neat as this is in the short term, I would like to get back to my life and... and... stuff..." He mumbled. Kade and Graham rolled their eyes at one another in unison before they chimed in and finished for him.

"His giiiiiirlfrieeeeend!"

Dani blushed right along with the bot, but the worry in her eyes was obvious. "How close are you to a solution?"

Perceptor paused thoughtfully as he began musing out loud, his processor obviously making an exact calculation as to the answer to Dani's question. "Some re-calibration to the voltage regulator, alignment of the radionic phrenometer, although some modifications will need to be made to in order for the coolant relays to be able to appropriately compensate for the potential arc flash relays... Perhaps an external rod clampstick..."

Heatwave grunted rather indiscreetly from behind them, and Perceptor straightened, Blades still in his hand.

"Ah yes, my apologies. It would be advisable for us to return to the Ark post haste. Wheeljack has already begun assembling some of the necessary components, and I would prefer that we have you on hand and readily available for comparison readings for the more minute adjustments."

Blades swallowed, and looked over at his team. In Perceptor's hand, he was now raised to their eye level. Leave his team? He didn't want to admit to it, but the thought terrified him. It had been hard enough when they first arrived. They had maintained face when Prime had broken the news to them that they had no base or homes to return to, but that night they had all huddled together in abject misery, frantically scrolling through the report logs he had been thoughtful enough to provide for them to search for the fates of loved ones left behind eons ago by a malfunctioning stasis pod.

Not knowing had been terrible.

Knowing their fates had in a way been worse.

At least when they didn't know they could have hoped to find at least some of them one day. With that hope dashed all they really had left was one another. Every time Heatwave had inquired about Prime's team Blades had felt a surge of terror that his family was about to become one bot smaller.

Boulder was smiling gently in encouragement, but Heatwave and Chase were still distracted but whatever spat they had going on. 

"By... myself...?"

"Naturally Tyler will accompany you in a few orns when we are nearer completion, and arrangements have been made for you both to bunk in Bumblebee's quarters. I understand he insisted upon it when Wheeljack mentioned to Ratchet that we would prefer to have you there during the preparatory phases."

"Really?" The little human shifted and looked hopefully up into Perceptor's frighteningly honest face. "He wants us to visit? We wouldn't be a bother?"

"I find it highly improbable that he would volunteer for a task that he would consider to be bothersome. I would imagine that if he did not desire to relegate a portion of his leisure time to your company then as a scout it would have been a simple matter for him to request a mission that would take him out of the base for the duration of your sojourn."

Well that made sense, in a confusingly verbose way. Crouching down, he leaned over Perceptor's index finger to peer down at his surrogate family. Kade flashed him a thumbs up, and Graham and Chief both nodded and smiled quiet encouragement. Dani... Her face looked funny... Almost like the skin had shrunk over her face... But she smiled a small, thin smile and nodded her approval up to him as well.

"Alright then. Let's go."

After all, it's not like things could get worse.


	10. Chapter 10

Boulder leapt forward as the comm flickered to life and the little human sitting on the oversized console came into focus.

"Blades! Or... Taylor...?"

Taylor's shoulders shrugged apologetically. "Still Blades. But Ratchet says it shouldn't be long now! There was only one explosion in Jack's lab yesterday, and that apparently means that they're almost done."

"An explosion means that? Is this a human scientist?"

"No. He's a bot. Wheeljack. But most of the bots here call him Jack when he's in mad scientist mode. Bee says he does that five or six times in a single megacycle when he's first starting out on a project. No one is allowed anywhere near those decks when he gets a new idea."

"In truth it's more that we don't allow _Jack_ anywhere beyond those decks when he gets a new idea. There was considerable effort invested in installing additional safety protocols across those levels to contain his... excess exuberation."

"Oh Boulder," Blades turned and gestured at the red and white bot manning the controls for him. "This is Red Alert. He's the head of security on the Ark. Him and Chase need to get a game of Cybertronian chess going. It would keep them both busy for decacycles."

"Well that's good to know." Boulder smiled at the other bot and leaned back. "If he thinks you can come anywhere close to beating Chase, then I know you've got that place locked up safer than Vigil even."

"I have not seen the personnel file for this Vigil you speak of, but I thank you for your trust. The Ark is most assuredly secure, and not even Wheeljack can compromise that."

"Or at least not for more than a couple of breems..."

Boulder's optics widened as the little security bot snapped up and half dragged the cheeky red frontliner out of the room.

"That's Sideswipe. He's apparently a degenerate criminal mastermind."

"And they let him out of the brig?"

"I think they're trying to rehabilitate him or something." The little human's brow furrowed for a moment as he puzzled on it. "I mean, there's always someone assigned to watch him, and Red Alert almost always has at least two of the video screens dedicated to wherever he is at any given time. I think he's working as a janitor now. He's always scrubbing the floors with these really tiny brushes, or repainting the walls, or buffing out dents in Jack's lab. I guess they didn't bring any bot-sized scrubbing brushes with them from Cybertron."

"I... don't think that's it... But how's Bee?"

"He's great! I went drag racing with him and Raf last night and there's another race tonight. We came in second, but that was on purpose. Raf said the other guy pounds anyone that beats him into the ground so Bee won't do it when someone's riding along. I guess he works in construction or something. Although it's still really weird to be sitting _inside_ of him when we go places... I mean... Do you think Dani and them ever thought about it really? It's just so..."

Boulder laughed. "Yeah I guess it would be kind of weird for us... I can't even imagine going for a ride inside Chase or Heatwave."

Too late, the names slipped out of his mouth before he could bite them back. He saw the little human's face fall as he was reminded, yet again, that they weren't in the room.

"Blades... I know they _want_ to be here..."

"Then why aren't they? It's not like someone is forcing them to stay out..."

"Chase has been trying to get Heatwave to be reasonable, but well..." The big green bot sighed and raised his hands in apologetic resignation. "I think he's just too scared."

"Oh yeah, sure. Because 1.87 meters is sooo intimidating. There are _microbots_ that are taller than I am right now. And I'm a few tons short of even being able to stand up to a stiff wind!" Blades scoffed, but the bitter sarcasm did little to hide the hurt and disappointment he felt.

"It's not that..." Boulder sighed, his mouth opening and closing several times as he vacillated on what to say. "I think... He's just too afraid to think about what if something goes wrong. I mean, what if Perceptor is too late? What will we do if it does become permanent? Or if... if... something... I mean..."

"If neither of us comes back at all." The little human stared darkly at the console he sat on. "I know. You think I don't think about that? Of course I think about it. What if the machine blows us up. What if we get turned into goo. What if both our sparks go flying off into space and you're left with two empties. What if only one of us comes back."

"Blades, I'm sorry..."

"It's not you. _I'm_ the paranoid one, remember? I think I've already come up with every possible, farfetched, unreasonable, and just down right glitched outcome and then some. I just..." Blades sucked in a sharp breath to try and steady his voice, but it still came out as barely more than a cracked whisper.

"I don't want to have one of those things happen, and not have gotten to say goodbye..."

Blades reached down and flicked the viewscreen to black before Boulder had a chance to answer, but the sparkbroken look in the green bot's optics emoted volumes more than his vocalizer ever could have.  


* * *

  
Blades sighed shakily, before he climbed down from the console and left the comm room. He felt lousy for lashing out at Boulder like that. He was the only bot who was really trying to keep his spirits up throughout this whole mess and it certainly wasn't his fault Heatwave had gone and relapsed to his aft-headed jerk alt mode.

He rubbed idly at where his chest panels should have been. Ever since Perceptor had mentioned that their sparks were adapting he'd become keenly aware of the lessening pains. The first few days had been horrific. He had felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to his spark chamber and mashed it three sizes too small.

Naturally, he had recalled stories of bots who had been unable to get their frames upgraded appropriately as their sparks grew, causing them to overheat their frames, short out their neural nets, crash their processes and glitch out in terrifyingly psychotic ways.

Now he wasn't sure if that wouldn't have been the preferable thing to be afraid of compared to his spark shrinking to fit this miserable carbon frame.

"Ah Blades... Perfect timing."

Startled, he looked up as the white medic loomed over him.

"Hound has gone and cracked his axle, and all the mess that goes along with that. Care to observe? Might be useful to get one of you better trained. Slagging stasis pods can only be counted on for so much." The medic's eyes were sharp as they appraised his reaction. It was a far more complicated repair compared to the minor patch and maintenance jobs Blades had been shadowing him on up to now.

"Will he mind?"

Ratchet snorted. "Like I give a slag. He did it to himself off-roading _before_ I cleared his upgrades and Earth mods as being sufficient for his intended use. I'll make a case study of him if I frag well please."

"I heard that you old coot!" The tracker hollered back from the medbay.

"Good! Maybe you'll remember it next time if you have even half a processor to stay active a quarter as long as I have!"

Blades cringed, both hands clapped over his audials, and Ratchet grunted and rubbed his chevron in consternation when he noticed. "Right... lower volume. I forget you can't dial down those audials if you want to, and with their school schedules we don't usually have organics around at this time."

"That's ok." Not really. He was still hearing that odd tinny ringing that happened whenever one of them yelled in the same room as him, but at the same time it was nice to be around bots who actually forgot that he _wasn't_ a bot at the moment.

"Well?" The medic stooped and extended his hand, which Blades eagerly scrambled onto. By far, the old medic was becoming his second favorite bot on team Prime. He'd already shown him how to perform full spectrum resonance spark scans, replace a shattered ball joint and re-attach the arm, ranted over routine doorwing maintenance after Bluestreak snagged one of his energon lines because he got something caught in one of his hinges, gone over nanite infusions, and had been allowing him to assist with measuring out the specific supplement blends for each bot's energy rations and explaining the reason for each. He might not be able to do much, but nothing prevented him from learning, and he was grateful beyond words for the distraction during the day cycles.

Bumblebee was still way cooler, but that went without saying. He was Bumblebee after all.

Ratchet stood and deposited him on his left shoulder, waiting for the small human to settle down comfortably and get a secure hold of his neck guard before he continued on to the medbay and the irate tracker slung over the examination table with his mud-splattered aft in the air.

Blades made a mental note that if he ever got his programming on a ground alt-mode again, to never, _ever_ , crack his rear axle.  


* * *

  
"SERIOUSLY?!" Raf wailed, a combination of dismay, disappointment, and definite envy in his voice.

"It's really not something to be jealous of... I mean, Ratchet even had to get his hands all up in his exhaust pipes... The trans fluid was just everywhere, and it had kind of burnt onto the pipes and was a real mess to get off."

" _You_ think that's weird but _I_ think it's science. Did you get to replace his entire transmission? It seized up from the cracked axle losing all the trans fluid right?"

Blades frowned. "No. Why would you think that?"

"Because- WOOOOOOH!" Raf hooted as Bee drifted through a turn with a squeal of tires, then gunned ahead and passed the lead car. "GO BEE, GO!"

The light trill from the intercom in the dash was laced with amusement. Raf bounced and yipped and cheered over the speed and inertia pulling him on the curves, while Blades did the very opposite. He sucked in a sharp breath each time, braced his feet firmly on the floor to shove himself back against the chair as hard as he could, and clutched at the armrests with white knuckled hands.

"You're doing this on _purpose_!"

More trills and bleeps answered him and he pouted sulkily at the ever rising needle on the speedometer. Beside him Raf laughed again. "That's why it's a race Blades! If you don't like them, you don't _have_ to come... I mean, it's really swell of you since I only get to come along if Jack or an older adult is along too, but if you don't like it we could stay home and game instead." 

Blades laughed tensely. "I like it... just not at the curves... or the straightways really... and it's kind of unnerving to pass other cars at this speed..."

He glared at the gleeful trills from the dash. "You are _not_ helping."

Raf laughed again. "Really though, don't you have transmissions?"

"Of course!"

"Well then didn't his seize without his trans fluid?"

"It's not the same for us." Bee chirped in agreement, a few more light trills following. "Your transmissions that you put inside your transports are kind of stiff. They have to go in the exact order of steps, and you can't skip any, and without the fluid they can't move at all. We don't have a transmission per say, but we do have something that helps modulate our speeds. But we can jump levels if we need to in emergencies and it doesn't really shift parts like yours do to let us do it. Low fluid levels would hurt like the pit, but they wouldn't _all_ leak out over a crack. You'd have to blast a major hole in the system, and if that happened, honestly I think speed would be the _last_ of a bot's worries."

"Why's that?"

Blades felt his face heat up. "Just... because..."

"Because why?"

"Because!" His face was really burning now and even Bumblebee had bleeped into a shocked silence. "It's... personal..." 

Raf rolled his eyes. "My uncle runs a garage. I already know about transmissions. How can gaskets, gears, seals, valves, and shafts be personal? Wait..."

The boy's head swung around, his eyes wide. "Isn't that what you call your... OH... oh... I didn't... I mean..." Bee's engine revved through another turn, and Blades yipped in surprise again, though Raf remained mercifully quiet for the rest of the race and the drive back home. They all did until Bee pulled up to the Ark and opened his doors to let his two occupants out before transforming to follow them.

"Blades..." Raf hesitated, just outside the doorway. "I'm sorry about... before... I mean... I didn't think that it might be _those_ parts..."

"Well..." Blades shifted uncomfortably and looked up at the yellow scout for help, who bleeped again and hastily waved his hands in front of him. Blades scowled back at him. "Some help _you_ are!"

"It's okay. I understand. I guess "the talk" is just as hard for bots as it is for parents." Raf laughed.

"Well, if it's just a _talk_ you want, then just ask Ratchet. He can tell you anything about just about everything. And even if he grumbles about it, I think he really enjoys teaching others about things they want to ask him about."

"I don't want to make him upset too." Raf murmured apologetically.

"Oh he won't be. He's way too old for that. Plus I have heard a _lot_ of rumors about him so there's just no way he would be embarrassed talking about _this_." Above them Bee trilled in agreement.

"Wait..." Raf stared at them slack-jawed. "Are you telling me _Ratchet_ is some kind of Mech-Daddy player bot?"

"Well no... I mean... I never heard anything _too_ weird or anything..."

"But when you outlive as many mechs as I have you get to know more than a few of them."

For the first time, Blades was actually happy to be a carbon and not a bot because if he had been a bot, he would have glitched himself straight into long-term stasis."

The medic's optics glittered at them in wry amusement as he leaned against the doorway, his arms folded across his chest plates making his frame even more imposing. "Don't _you_ have some testing scheduled in a few joors?" A single optic ridge arched smugly in Blades' direction.

Blades nodded wordlessly and bolted for his quarters, dragging Raf along after him.

Ratchet smirked after them before turning his cool optics on Bumblebee. "And _you_ are overdue for your maintenance checkup..."

Bee's helm bobbed up and down in silent agreement.

"Good. Now that we're all understood, I'll see you right after you get him to his testing in the morning you bunch of rumor mongering ungrateful glitches."

Bee's helm bobbed again in silent agreement before he bolted off after the two humans.

The medic watched him disappear down the halls, then chuckled wryly to himself as he went back to his medbay.

Getting old certainly had its advantages.


	11. Chapter 11

Blades shrank back from the door, his shoulders drawn tight and his arms wrapped tightly about his torso in a protective cocoon. Something was very definitely wrong with his tanks. He'd already been to the evil closet to leak three times in the past hour, and his upper tank felt like it was flipping around and twisting itself into painful kinks which made no sense since if organics didn't have tubing, then how could they have kinks? It made him wish that they hadn't told him about the final preparations since all that had done was give him something to dread.

What if...

What if...

Primus help him, but what if...

The first hour or so of preparations hadn't been all that bad. There had at least been quite a few things going on that provided plenty of opportunity for distraction. There had been new people and new mechs, and it had been pleasantly distracting to simply follow Bee and Raf around as he was being introduced. There had been a very nice man named Fowler who had come from somewhere he couldn't quite remember the name of to assist with the final preparations, and he had bought along a human medical staff with him who had at least provided some changes to the normal routine for the morning. They had done some more tests that he really hadn't understood and took pictures of his internals without opening any panels which had definitely been interesting. One of the older ladies had been very sweet to him, and kept gently encouraging him to eat something, and would pet his head in this strange way that felt so incredibly soothing that he almost didn't want to calm down so that she might keep doing it.

Would it have been rude to ask her to just keep doing it anyway? If Miko were here, he would have asked her. She was so sweet and always completely honest with him. She laughed if it was something humorous, but she never poked fun at him directly or brought older frivolities back up to haunt him. She simply laughed once in her sweet voice, then explained why it had been funny, and was done. From anyone else it might have been upsetting, but she was just so open about it that he always laughed with her even when he had absolutely no clue what they were laughing about.

Sometimes he still had no idea what they had all been laughing about even after the explanation, but he trusted her judgement that it had been funny.

Either way, the number of tasks he was needed for had dwindled, Bee had been pulled out on a mission, Raf had left for an after-school science program, and here he was now crouched up alone on the catwalk nearly level with Wheeljack's shoulder as the bot fiddled about powering up the final sequences. 

Something sparked under his large hands and bright blue electricity arced from one console to another one opposite it immediately followed by a string of curses from the white bot and some sterner admonitions about fine-tuning the frequency of each device before powering on the next from Perceptor.

Thank Primus he was here. Wheeljack might blow him up skimming excitedly over a step, but he was reasonably sure that he could trust that Perceptor would absolutely catch any glitches and stomp them out before he was nothing more than an organic smear on the floor.

Organic smear...

He shuddered again and wondered how in the middle of a desert he could constantly feel so very cold. When he told people he was from Griffin Rock, Maine they all gasped and commented on how very cold it must be up there, but frankly, he was starting to serious question whether their internal thermometers were calibrated correctly.

"How're you holding up?" Ratchet's soft voice brought him back from his strung out rumination, and he raised his head to give the medic a shaky smile.

"It'll be nice to be back in my own frame without all these funny feeling internals." He murmured softly. The 'oh slag Primus please don't let me get fragged straight to the pit by a massive malfunction' went unsaid, but he was pretty sure the medic wasn't fooled. 

Actually, he was convinced beyond any shadow of a doubt that the medic wasn't fooled.

"Got anything inspiring to say?"

"Not a thing. I do however have a complete slag-aft strapped down to a berth in the medbay though. Half-processed, over-welded, mis-bolted glitch went and fragged up his vocal modulator trying to hardlink to some human tech system down in Silicon Valley while trying to hack it for a prank. Thought you'd enjoy hearing the sounds he's making while I try and figure out what the frag that damned piece of outdated scrap that these humans call the premiere advances in modern technology did to his coding."

Blades cocked his head, the look of intrigue tinged with suspicion. Sure, it sounded interesting, but at the same time, why would Ratchet actually go looking for him and delay treatment? 

"Who is it?"

"Sideswipe." Ratchet's face beamed the single, most perfect, slag-eating grin that Blades had ever seen. He hadn't been around the mech all that much, but he had quickly learned to beware the pranks. Although, he did admit secretly, they _were_ pretty funny and almost always deserved in some way or another. That and he had already been repeatedly assured by Raf and Miko that Sideswipe _only_ pranked the mechs and was always careful that it was in a way that could never hurt one of the tiny humans.

Apparently there was some other mech name Prowl who was off on Cybertron right now who had "talked sense" into Sideswipe, but Sideswipe wouldn't really go into any more details than that. In fact the prankster usually shuddered and peered around warily any time he heard this Prowl's name get mentioned as though he expected him to materialize from the walls.

Blades was secretly convinced this Prowl might be even more terrifying than Megatron himself.

"You _do_ mean to _fix_ him, right?"

Ratchet's grin widened. "Oh absolutely. It would be unethical of me not too and that is something my coding would never allow, no matter how big of a pain in my aft that glitch spawn is. However as a precautionary measure it's only right that I should be absolutely certain beyond any shadow of a doubt which bytes of coding need altering before I make any programming changes that could become permanent."

"Oh... Well in that case, I guess it would be unethical of me to not assist in any way I can." Blades grinned back up at the old bot before he clambered over the safety rail and onto the medic's shoulder. It was kind of funny in a way how heights terrified him, and yet he wasn't bothered in the slightest to be riding up here on the mech's shoulder. A fall from here would certainly turn him into an organic smear, yet it felt strangely safe and easy in a way nothing else really did.

"That's what I wanted to hear little mech."

  


* * *

 

Wheeljack muttered another muffled curse at the console, all the while keeping one optic on the conversation to his left. To his immense relief, Ratchet reached up, and the small organic climbed over the rail and left with him.

"All clear Percy."

To his right with the military science team, Perceptor glanced over and smiled softly. "Whatever you bribed Sides with to create his little distraction, remind me to double it. That unfortunate mech was only amplifying his stress levels by watching us work as we finalize the actual systems."

"Wouldn't you?"

"Absolutely, if you were the sole entity in charge of calculating my salvation." The red bot chuckled as the other bot's vocalizer lights flashed something silent and exceptionally obscene back at him. Once the final calibrations of a particularly delicate crystal power housing was finished he raised his helm to continue. "I would trust you to build it, but I would still insist upon Brainstorm or Prowl being summoned out to review all of the calculations before I would want to be even remotely close to it when it was first activated. You must admit that statistically from your past history the probability of a first run being a successful run are not even in remote proximity to where one would expect for a mech of your intelligence."

"But Prowl?! How can you acknowledge my intelligence and then in the same intake announce that you would trust _Prowl_ over me if you were entangled in a similar predicament?! He's not even a scientist! Primus, I'm not even sure if he knows what scientific theory even is! The whole concept of developing something on an unsubstantiated hunch to prove it correct would probably lock his processor for joors! Brainstorm I can at least understand. He's a bright bot and his theories are sound, he just gets too tied up in the potential alternate theories and never manages to choose one to develop further. I just wouldn't trust him to build anything lest he get halfway through then change his mind on how he wants to finish it all. But _Prowl_?!"

"Have you calculated the probability of error here? Or the likelihood of each potentially calamitous outcome? Or even just all the varying levels of calamitous outcomes? His math is positively infallible when it comes to statistics and logistics. He would ignore the scientific theory behind the device and seek out the most microscopic of miscalibrations, determine every possible consequence and thus determine the settings that would carry the greatest likelihood of success. Provided, of course, that your scientific theory behind it is sound. I would expect it to go without saying that I would _not_ under any circumstances trust a tactical bot to develop something only a scientific bot should. We just don't process the same way. The static infra-gyrometer if you would please."

His lights flickered with his chuckle and Wheeljack shook his helm as he glanced about to locate the requested tool then passed it over. "The only thing I think right now is that you've definitely thought this through far too seriously. Although now that you've outlined it so starkly I have to admit that if you weren't around to be _my_ salvation, I think I might have to go with Prowl now too."

"I'm quite certain he would be positively perplexed at how we could even generate such preposterous thoughts. How is the crystalline thermal dispersion system coming? The last set of output variables I reviewed from it indicated it was still at a superior output than what we determined to be the ideal by nearly 11.3%."

"Hmph. Just needed an extra tubing unit installed was all. The original four turned out to not provide quite enough displacement for the crystals that we were provided. It was easier to add on that extra unit on than it would have been to try and find crystals with a reduced output. We wouldn't be able to get them shipped here from Cybertron in time, and repurposed ones are prone to variable flux. How's the focal lens?"

"Calibrated to his organic readout, and the final adjustments will be made once his mech form arrives."

"Is there a time scheduled for that yet?"

"In three groons."

"Think this will really work?"

"I will not speculate on the outcome. I believe this to be the method with the greatest likelihood of successful transference. I also certainly hope that you did not encourage Sideswipe any further with his and Smokescreen's horrifically morbid pool on what the outcome will be."

"I would _never_ bet _against_ my own invention! In fact I just might be insulted that you seem to think I would even consider such a thing." Wheeljack huffed in mock affront before his frame went slack again. "To be perfectly honest, it does worry me when I see his outcomes spreadsheet and what our team mates think our "cure" will cause."

"Then we shall simply have to prove them all wrong."

  


* * *

  


Blades shivered again as he watched the mechs position his frame carefully. They were attempting down to the most minute detail to replicate the original circumstances, so the energy field would strike Taylor in his mech form first, then him in Taylor's human form. His team mates had described him as being crouched low to the ground in an almost seated position with one hand cupped around nothing, and Dani had said that was where she had found Taylor lying unconscious and that prior to Blades having knocked her back, she believed he had been standing closest to the crates.

Of course it was still possible that the field had struck Taylor first and then he had gotten between the two, but no one was willing to speculate to him on the potential outcome if they were wrong.

He also didn't like the way the Taylor-bot was looking over at the clustered medical team and the assembled equipment. He knew what his faceplates did when he was worried and that was way beyond worried. What if Taylor's body was deactivated? With him still in it? Or what if they both became trapped in one? Was that even possible? Would it be like having a bodiless bond mate? Did organics even have such a concept?

Blades shuddered, harder this time and wished again that Dani and Heatwave were there. Or at least Dani... He was sickly sure though that Heatwave wouldn't have come, again, which would have meant Chase wouldn't have been there either because he would have been yelling at Heatwave to try and convince him to be supportive. Just having Boulder here though would have been better than no one at all. They weren't even letting Bumblebee come into the room now.

And even though the human medical team had gently reassured him that it was only so that _if_ any medical attention was required, they wouldn't be in the way, he still felt as though he was about to become the victim in a horror movie whose rating was too explicit to allow any of his friends in.

For the upteenth time that day images of him exploding into an organic smear flashed through his mind and he bit down on the involuntary sob. Maybe he could get used to this horrible squishy frame and that horrible closet.

"This way Blades." He jumped at Doc Greene's gentle voice as a hand touched his shoulder. At least one other person from Griffon Rock was here. Nodding numbly, he allowed the doc to lead him to his marked position where he sat on the floor.

"Not much longer now and you'll be able to kick Heatwave's aft and I'll be able to take Dani out on an apology date." Taylor tried to grin at him, but it was far from reassuring. In fact it was down right freakish to have his mech form looming over him like this. Did Dani really think he looked that huge to her?

He merely nodded and shut his eyes.

Fans whirred to life. A power generator began a low hum which gradually built up into a steady high-pitched whine. Electrical popping and crackling interrupted the conversations erratically. Thankfully he really couldn't hear anything that was being said over all the noise with these sub-grade organic audials.

Naturally, because of that, the sudden searing pain tearing through every atom of his being came as a complete surprise. Was that his voice, or Taylor's screaming? Maybe both?

Then everything went blissfully silent and black.


	12. Chapter 12

"Is that..." Blades sniffed the thick aroma. "Hot spiced oil?"

Boulder smiled shyly as he brought the tray into the hanger and sat down on the couch beside the coptor. "I thought it would be nice to have a treat that would top off your tank at the same time while we watch that movie."

The orange mech smiled wistfully. "I don't understand... How did you even get this? They don't have it here on Earth." Picking up a quart, he inhaled the thick aroma with a dreamy smile before he took a sip. The warm thick fluid wrapped his tubing sensuously before the warmth hit his tanks like a trip to the hot oil baths..

"Well, I got it from Smokescreen actually. I mentioned to Sideswipe that I was trying to come up with something really nice for you as a homecoming, and I guess he knew that Smokescreen had some stuff from Cybertron and the two of them came up with this blend for me. Some of the spices come from Earth, and they touched it up with some from Cybertron."

"Really? Sideswipe _made_ the spice blend? I didn't know he could do that..."

"Yeah." The big green bot smiled as he sank back against the couch with his own mug. "He used to deal in high end trade goods before. Although he did say he never worked with hot oil before. He used to make his own house blends of high grade in his own distillery. Kind of neat huh?"

Blades smiled into his mug. "Hey Boulder, you know... I've never actually had high grade."

"Yeah I figured. They told us you were a brand new grad before we set out in stasis, so we knew that you probably weren't old enough for most of that stuff. Once we met you it was kind of obvious that you weren't the sort that would sneak around bending the rules to party and such." Boulder grinned.

"I guess it was really obvious I was just a big cyber chicken."

"No, Blades, don't say that. You know I didn't try any before I was old enough. And you know Chase definitely didn't either! Heck he probably hasn't even had enough to get a slight charge much less get overcharged. There's nothing wrong with that."

Blades took another sip and tried to focus on the Jurassic Park marathon that was playing as part of the new movie's promotion. He couldn't quite figure out the appeal of this one, but then again, he was easily as big as their largest dinosaurs and a lot harder to bite through so that probably made a difference.

"I'm sure Heatwave wasn't afraid to wait." He murmured softly.

Boulder glanced towards the fire truck's private room. "Yeah probably not... But you know what really did have him scared?"

Blades shook his helm and turned his attention to Boulder, his curiosity peaked.

"You."

"Me?" Blades frowned. "I'm not even a mildly scary bot. How could anyone be scared of me?"

Boulder sipped his own drink and clasped both of his big hands around the tiny quart. "Yeah that's true. But that just makes everyone care more. You really had us scared... When we found you offline... Heatwave won't admit it but he was terrified that we'd lost you right there. I caught him a few times sitting up in the recharge cycle sitting by you instead of charging."

Blades' optics widened. "Really? But... why?"

"Why else?" Boulder smiled and patted the orange mech's knee. "When you came online and it was Taylor in there instead of you, I thought he was going to have a full processor crash. I know he was a jerk and hid the whole time you were stuck inside Taylor, but I think he just didn't know what to do. I mean, he's Kade's partner. Kade hasn't really taught him how to bond with a human the way the rest of us have. They're both kind of awkward and aloof and don't really own up to what they're really feeling."

"Yeah... I am lucky to have Dani even if she does like to fly like a lunatic." Blades smiled softly.

"Yeah. He tried to hide behind extra work, and calling team Prime, but what it really came down to was he was really scared that he couldn't fix it and he might not even be able to find someone who could fix you. What do you do when someone you love might not be coming back?" Boulder smiled and beamed knowingly at the smaller mech.

Blades' optics widened and he busied himself with drinking his oil.

"So, want to go over some more schematics before you head out to Jasper for your practical with Ratchet?" With a knowing smile, Boulder changed the subject. He had at least planted the seed in the coptor's processor and now it was just a matter of getting Heatwave to mech up and confess what everyone else already knew was there.

  


* * *

 

"Turn your helm... Again... Tilt up... Good." Ratchet placed the delicate scanner back down on his worktable before turning back and spending a few more minutes manually inspecting his neck cables and coils. "Any pains, tightness, or kinks since your check up last week?"

"None at all."

"Good." The medic nodded and pulled out his cables. Blades obediently popped open his medical port for the medic and the two spent the next few breems going through the rituals of access requests and ID pings.

"Alright. I'm going to ask you a few simple processing questions to assess your core integration. First off, count to 50 in binary click... In Cybertronian standard now... In Polyhexian... Now Towers..."

At that question Blades' optic ridges furrowed. "Did I ever speak Towers? Because I don't remember any of it now if I did..."

"Nope. Or at least it wasn't in your files if you did." The old medic chuckled as he followed Blades through his logic processes. "It was just a question I threw in to test that no one muddled with your programming to 'fix' gaps that you thought were there."

"Absolutely not." The orange bot huffed with mock indignation. "Perceptor is the only bot who I have let touch my processor other than you. And he's always done it either with your permission or in your presence. I would never let anyone muck around in there willy nilly. Who knows what would happen!"

Ratchet smiled, genuine fondness in his expression. "I've no doubt. But I do need to ask all those questions anyway just for documentation's sake. Everything is checking out nicely this visit though. I think we can make this your final check up and I can discharge you with a clean bill of health after this ordeal. Do you think you feel like you're back to normal functioning or is there something else?"

"Yeah I guess everything's normal. I mean, it's still strange to just online one morning and not know how I got from the airport by the docks to Optimus Prime's headquarters." The orange bot still had a bit of awe in his tone, despite having spent the past three weeks back and forth between their two bases undergoing massive amounts of post procedural testing. "I have some vague memories that have been coming back, usually after a recharge, but they're kind of fragmented. It's weird because I don't _feel_ like their memories, but I know that they're mine at the same time."

Ratchet smiled. "Well, thank Primus for small favors. The horror stories you had about humans and their biological functioning was enough to make even our stoic frontliners pale and try to sneak out of the room. Not to say that it wasn't educational for the science staff. You were much more open about things than the humans are when we don't have specific questions to ask."

"Oh, is that why Sides is so nice to me? I scared him into it with Tales from the Toilet?"

The old medic chuckled and rolled his optics at Blades' theatrical tone as he pulled up a few more things at his terminal. "Those mechs frag well leaked oil into their pans when they heard some of your stories."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad I can't remember most of them so that I don't have to tell them to myself now." Blades' plating rattled with a nervous shiver. "It's weird enough to have people tell _me_ about what a courageous bot I was... Ratchet I don't know if you know this about me, but I think _everything_ is terrifying."

The old medic smiled. "Stick to medical even half as long as I have, and you'll find that to be true more often than not. I have seen fully upgraded mechs stupid enough to go and sustain severe injuries from toys for _sparklings_ because of the half-fried idea their processors came up with for using it."

For a moment, Blades looked shocked, then an indignant wail rose up in his vocalizer. "Wait even _those_ can be dangerous! Why am I only learning these things now?!"

Ratchet laughed.

"Like I said... stick to medical. Here we are now. Let's get started on that practical..."

  


* * *

 

"How was it?"

Blades smiled happily when Boulder's face flickered into view on the communications screen and his voice crackled over the line. Behind him Red Alert smiled and slipped quietly out of the room to give them a few minutes privacy.

"I only missed one questions, and Ratchet said it was a trick question really that was designed to assess how well I think on my feet when faced with a completely unknown scenario. My patient would have died but he said my approach was actually novel and had a good basis in the fundamentals of Cybertronian medicine." Blades smiled widely. "Which I think was his way of saying I've got potential."

"That's great! And of course you've got potential Blades. I could have told you that. I'm sure you would have been sparked to the medical caste if you hadn't been sparked during the Rescue Bot Initiative. Even then I bet if we'd stuck around Cybertron long enough they would have amended the Initiative to include a medical caste on each team and I know they would have reassigned you as the primary medic."

"Do you really think so?" He asked quietly. Boulder always said nice things, but he didn't usually exaggerate past what he believed to be true. "I mean, I know I'm not the best Rescue Bot, but do you really think it's because this is what I should have been caste for? Because I think you would have been really good for it too and I don't want to take a spot that you really wanted."

"I do think you were sparked for it. I've aways found medicine to be fascinating, but really, when you think about it, I find everything to be fascinating, don't I? I suppose that's what really makes me a science bot at spark. And engineers still cross over into medical often enough for it to stay really interesting. I don't think I could settle myself down to just one discipline the way Ratchet has."

"Really? I think that's the best part."

Boulder laughed. "Of course you would. Like I said before Blades, you were sparked for this. How long will you be staying there this time before you come back?"

"Ratchet says he wants me here for at least one meta-cycle out of every stellar-cycle and that each visit has to be at least a deca-cycle in length. Optimus said he had asked to have another coptor-bot named Alpha Bravo come out for the first few stellar-cycles. Can you believe he's part of a gestalt team? But one of them is a medic also and had to go through his final round of training, and another was injured and is on leave so while they can't work as a team he asked him if he would go and help out Griffin Rock. Bumblebee says he's really really nice and has a great sense of humor."

Boulder smiled. "I look forward to meeting him, but he'll never be able to replace you."

The orange mech smiled in relief and glanced up as the doors behind him whooshed open. "I have to go Boulder, but I'll comm you again once I know when I'll be bridged back."

"Take care!"

Red Alert smiled. "Congratulations on passing. Ratchet doesn't brag often but he was quite pleased by your performance. It's definitely something you should be proud of and keep in mind with all the challenges that will be ahead. He is not likely to continue to be as gentle as he was with you when you were trapped in a more fragile carbon body."

Blades nodded fervently at the sage advice and left the security director to his monitors with a friendly wave and then paused out in the hallway. This was going to be his second home now, for who knew how long, but he was determined to do this right.

He would make Heatwave proud of him.

Blades giddily at the warm tingle that left in the bottom of his tanks.

Things were turning around now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ends The Switch. The story with Blades continues in The Faded, which is a _much_ darker fic. You have been warned. Also, while I find it fragging weird to have the protectobot Blades renamed by the new Combiner Wars, at the same time it is rather convenient to avoid confusion with the Rescue Bot Blades, hence why I used Alpha Bravo.


End file.
